Never Tear Us Apart
by Hope Grace
Summary: A sequel to Don't Walk Away. Brady and Chloe must hold themselves together to face their greatest fears and their worst enemies.
1. Default Chapter

This is a sequel to "Don't Walk Away". Thematically, it will be different, but it's using the backdrop of "Don't Walk Away" as setup. This one is less sappy angst like DWA, it's more action-packed angst with a side helping of sap. But, I needed all the situations that were set up in "Don't Walk Away" to exist here.  
  
So, if you haven't read that story -- what are you waiting for? And, that's not just a shameless self-plug. It's important to know that Chloe and Brady are married and have a son named Wesley. Phillip is in prison for putting Brady in a coma. Chloe is Bill Horton's daughter. Greta has become a close friend of Broe. Uhm... What else? I don't know... Just read 'Don't Walk Away' to catch up.  
  
DWA ended on Christmas of 2003. This begins in the spring of 2004. (Making Wesley a little over a year old.)  
  
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Never Tear Us Apart - Chapter One  
  
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Brady stepped off the Titan elevator and walked swiftly towards Marie's desk. She was busy on a phone call and Brady just smiled politely at her as he patiently waited for her to finish. She finally hung up the phone and looked up at him in surprise.  
  
"Mr. Black... Is your grandfather expecting you?"  
  
"Actually, no. But, I was in the neighborhood for a business meeting, and I thought I'd stop by and see if he was busy for lunch. Is he in?"  
  
Marie nodded and reached for the phone on her desk. "He is... Let me see if he's available."  
  
She hit the button on the phone and Brady observed her as she spoke to Victor on the other line. "Mr. Kiriakis... Your grandson Brady is here... Are you available to see him? -- Okay, yes sir."  
  
Marie hung up the phone and motioned towards Victor's door. "He said to send you in right away."  
  
Brady nodded and headed towards Victor's office, smiling at Marie as he passed by her. "Thanks, Marie."  
  
He slowly opened the door to his grandfather's office and stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. Victor was sitting behind his desk and it was evident to Brady that something was terribly amiss. All of the color was gone from his face, and it seemed as if he had aged 10 years since the last time Brady had seen him, just a few days ago.  
  
"Grandpa Victor? Are you... okay? What's going on?"  
  
Victor had been looking away but his eyes met Brady's and he motioned for him to take a seat. "Brady. I'm really glad you're here. I need to talk to you. Sit down."  
  
Brady sat in the chair across from Victor and looked at him with concern. "What's going on?"  
  
"I just got off the phone with the warden at the penitentiary."  
  
"Phillip... Something happened to Phillip."  
  
Victor sighed deeply and nodded. "He's dead, Brady. He -- He hung himself in his cell last night. They found him when they did the bed check this morning."  
  
Brady gripped the armrest of the chair with his right hand as a wave of conflicting emotions ran through his body. He didn't know whether to grieve, or whether he cared at all. Phillip was once his family, but he was also the man that had nearly ended his life.  
  
"I -- I don't know what to say. I don't know how to react. I'm sorry..."  
  
"I understand. After what he did to you, sometimes I don't even know how to feel towards him either. But, he is my son, no matter what he did."  
  
Brady nodded slightly, but his grandfather's words were barely cutting through the fog that filled his mind. He stood from his chair and ran a hand through his blonde hair. His first thoughts, as always, had gone to his wife and how she might be affected by the news of Phillip's death. She had worked so hard to get over the pain his actions had caused her, and his name seemed to never come up in conversation anymore. It was as if she had completely erased him from her mind.  
  
"I guess -- I guess I should go tell Chloe."  
  
Victor stood also and walked with Brady towards the door. "I need to go find Kate... She needs to hear it from me first."  
  
Brady nodded and opened the door, stepping through it with Victor behind him. "She's at the Basic Black offices, I just saw her this morning..."  
  
Victor turned to Marie to give her instructions. "Marie, I'll be out of the office the rest of the day. Cancel all my appointments. When Nicole comes back in from her lunch meeting, tell her to call me on my cell phone ASAP."  
  
Marie looked at him in confusion but nodded her compliance. "Yes, of course, Mr. Kiriakis."  
  
Brady and Victor walked to the elevator together in silence, and stepped inside. They waited as the elevator went towards the parking structure and Victor looked at his grandson sadly.  
  
"I -- I guess I'll have to make funeral arrangements."  
  
Brady didn't really want to involve himself in anything that had to do with Phillip. But, for his grandfather, he would do anything. "If you need me... If you need my help. Just call."  
  
Both men stepped off the elevator and paused at Victor's limo. Brady gave his grandfather a brief hug and Victor smiled in appreciation. "Thank you, Brady... I guess I will call you later."  
  
Brady nodded and watched Victor get into the long black car before heading to his own car, parked in the garage. He slid into the driver's seat and grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket, quickly dialing his wife's number.  
  
"Hello..."  
  
"Chloe, it's me."  
  
Chloe's voice sounded surprised, but pleased to hear from him. "Hey you... What's going on?"  
  
Brady swallowed the lump in his throat and questioned her. "Where are you?"  
  
"I'm at the mall. With Greta and Wes. The princess insisted on purchasing a new dress, and whatever the princess wants, the princess gets..."  
  
Chloe giggled at the end of her sentence and Brady could hear Greta's familiar voice laughing in the background, replying to Chloe's comment. "Oh, that's rich. Especially coming from the DIVA."  
  
Chloe continued to laugh softly then returned to her conversation with Brady. "So, what's up? I thought you were going to have lunch with your grandfather today..."  
  
"I -- I was going to. But, something came up. Can you meet me in the Java Cafe in fifteen minutes? We need to talk."  
  
There was a hesitant pause from Chloe's end, as she realized that something more was going on than Brady was telling her. "Yeah, I can be there. What's wrong, Brady?"  
  
"I'll tell you when I get there."  
  
Chloe sighed loudly, out of frustration. "Okay, okay... But, I hate knowing something bad is happening, but not knowing what it is. Can't you tell me now?"  
  
Brady started his jeep and buckled his seatbelt as he finished up the conversation. "No, I can't. I'll be there as quickly as possible. Just be patient."  
  
She said a reluctant goodbye and Brady hung up his phone, throwing it in the seat next to him. He drove as quickly as possible towards Salem Place, and rushed towards the cafe to find his wife. Chloe and Greta were sitting at a table together while Wesley played in his stroller.   
  
As soon as Brady walked up to their table, Chloe could tell something was definitely wrong. Even the way he walked seemed different from usual, his face pale and sullen, even though he was plastering on a fake smile. He leaned over the stroller and greeted his son, a miniature version of himself, with a kiss on the forehead.  
  
Wes giggled happily at his father and Brady stood to give Chloe a kiss on the cheek. Chloe's forehead creased with worry and she stared at him expectantly.  
  
"Well, what's going on?"  
  
Brady ran his tongue over his lower lip as he paused, then turned to Greta, flashing her a look that she understood instantly. She slid out of her chair and walked around to Wesley's stroller. "Hey Brady... I'm gonna go take Wes to see the stuffed animals. I'll leave you two alone."  
  
Brady smiled at her thankfully and watched Greta walk away, pushing the stroller in front of her. He slid into the seat across from Chloe and reached across the table to hold her hand.   
  
"Chloe, I don't know how to say this..."  
  
"Just say it, Brady... I can handle whatever it is."  
  
"It's Phillip... He's dead."  
  
Her eyes shut and her face seemed to instantly turn to stone, as the walls that protected her from feeling anything about that man went up immediately. She opened her eyes again, but her expression did not change. It was as if she had shut down inside for just a moment, and now she was back again.  
  
"How?"  
  
Brady ran his thumb in a circle over her hand and sighed softly. "Suicide. He hung himself in his cell last night. Victor had just received the phone call when I got to Titan."  
  
Chloe nodded in understanding and got out of her chair, slipping her hand out of Brady's while she grabbed her purse. She took a deep breath in and pointed towards the direction that Greta had walked towards.  
  
"I -- I better go find Greta and Wes. I..."  
  
She turned to walk away and Brady jumped out of his chair to follow her, grabbing her arm gently and forcing her to look at him. "Chloe... That's it? That's all you have to say? Phillip is DEAD. He's gone."  
  
Chloe steeled her gaze and looked up into her husband's eyes. "I don't care. I have a whole other life now, and he is not a part of that. I don't care about anything that has to do with that name. Okay?"  
  
Brady let her go and Chloe walked away, meeting Greta at the stand that sold a variety of stuffed animals. He watched her as she smiled and chatted with Greta as if nothing had ever happened. He slowly walked towards them, but he couldn't help but wonder what was really going on in his wife's head. Brady could usually read her like a book, but it was if she had completely shut off all emotion for just a few moments after she heard the news, blocking him from knowing how the news of Phillip's death was affecting her.  
  
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	2. Chap 2

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Chapter Two  
  
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(A few days later.)  
  
Chloe slid the door to the loft closed behind her and laid the stack of mail down on their kitchen counter. She pulled up a barstool and began opening the mail, piece by piece, absentmindedly tucking her hair behind her ears as she looked over the bills that had arrived.   
  
Brady's footsteps came gently down the stairs and Chloe turned her head slightly to look at him. He was dressed in a black suit, with a crisp white shirt and black tie, holding a still groggy Wesley in his arms.  
  
"Did the mailman bring us anything good today?"  
  
Chloe shook her head and tossed the envelopes aside. "Just bills... The usual."  
  
She stood from the barstool and walked towards Brady holding out her arms for Wesley. Wesley reached for her and she took him from his father with a smile. "Hey little guy... You're up early from your nap."  
  
Brady nodded and smoothed down the material of his black jacket. "He woke up while I was changing. He's in a pretty good mood too."  
  
Wesley looked at his father and began happily chattering away. "Da-da, da-da, da-da..."  
  
Chloe frowned at Brady and sighed. "Why is it always with the 'da-da', and no 'mama' yet? That's not fair..."  
  
Brady chuckled and gave Chloe a brief kiss on the lips. "That's just because da-da is easier to say for a baby. I'm sure he'll be saying mama very soon."  
  
"I hope so. Because, I'm starting to get impatient."  
  
Brady leaned down and tickled Wesley's sides, sending the toddler into a fit of laughter as Brady spoke to him in a voice that Chloe had only heard him use for their son. "You'll be saying mama soon, won't you, Mini-Me? Huh?"  
  
Chloe laughed at both of them as Brady continued tickling Wesley until he couldn't take it any more. She twirled him away from his father and set him down to walk around the living room towards his toy box. She watched him scuttle away happily and then looked back up at Brady with an uneasy smile.  
  
"You... You look very handsome."  
  
Brady straightened his tie and winked playfully at her. "Thank you, Mrs. Black..."  
  
Chloe swallowed loudly and made an attempt to keep a smile on her face. "So... How long do you think you'll be gone? Should I cook dinner? Or should we just go out? Or order in?"  
  
Brady grabbed her hand and held it gently. He knew she was avoiding the subject of the funeral like the plague, trying to find something else to talk about before he left. "I don't think I'll be gone long. I want to spend a little time with my grandfather, but I'll be back early. So, whatever you want to do, Diva. In fact, if you want, we can even call the babysitter and we'll do something wonderful together."  
  
"Okay, okay... Sounds good. You should go. I don't want you to be late."  
  
Chloe tried to look away from him, but Brady wouldn't let her, he directed her face back towards him with the tip of his finger. "Chloe... If you want, I can call Greta. She can come over and hang out with you while I'm gone."  
  
Chloe sighed in frustration and shook her head. "Brady, I am perfectly capable of being home alone with Wesley. Today is no different from any other day. So, just go, and don't worry about me."  
  
"But... Today *IS* different. Believe me, I don't want to go. I don't want to mourn the death of a man who nearly destroyed both of our lives. But, I have to be there. I love my grandfather, and I swore to always be by his side when he needed me. It's what my mother would have wanted me to do."  
  
"I know, Brady. And, I understand all of the reasons why you're going. But, I told you before that this doesn't affect me. I feel nothing. NOTHING. It is just another day to me."  
  
Brady looked at her with a look of doubt. "Chloe..."  
  
She began shaking her head and dragging him towards the door, interrupting him before he could say anything else. "I'm fine. Everything is fine. Now get going, and I'll see you afterwards."  
  
Chloe slid the door opened and waved him out. He stood on the other side of the threshold, his face creased with concern for her. She sighed softly and gave him a brief kiss on the lips before putting his hands on his chest to push him further into the hallway.  
  
"Go, Brady... Get out of here."  
  
Chloe smiled at him, this time with ease and even though he was still unsure of her mood, he smiled back at her. "Okay, okay... I love you."  
  
Chloe nodded and slid the door closed, pausing to peek out before she shut it all the way. "I love you too... Now GO."  
  
She heard Brady chuckle softly as he headed towards the elevator and she shut the door completely. Chloe turned around with a sigh and looked at Wesley playing on the floor with the toy car that his Aunt Belle had bought just a few days ago. It had quickly become his favorite toy, as did every new toy that came into their house.  
  
Chloe sat on the floor across from him and watched him closely as he played. She reached over and smoothed down the blonde hair that covered his head. It seemed as each day passed he was beginning to look more and more like his father. He had a tenacious personality just like his father did, and that's why Brady had begun calling him "Mini-Me". Even John and Marlena both had remarked on how much Wesley was like his father as a toddler.  
  
"You better start saying 'mama' soon, Wes... I'm the one that carried you and gave birth to you, by the way."  
  
Wesley looked up at her with a bright smile, even though he was completely oblivious to the meaning of her words. He was a beautiful child, happy, full of life and well behaved. Chloe imagined that if he was anything like his parents, the well-behaved part might only last until he reached his teenage years. All she wanted was to be able to give her son the kind of life she had never had as a child. A happy life with two parents who love him.  
  
Chloe sighed loudly, a sudden blanket of sadness falling over her, as she thought about all of the pain that had been a regular part of her past. She didn't know what suddenly possessed her, but she scooped Wesley off the floor and grabbed her car keys off the hook near the door, quickly heading into the hallway outside the loft.  
  
She locked the door behind her and smiled at her son, trying to fight back the tears that were just brimming at the surface. "Come on, Wes. Let's go see Mrs. Malone..."  
  
Chloe went down a floor to her neighbor's apartment, a kind middle-aged woman who had watched Wesley on the rare occasions that their regular babysitter was unavailable. She knocked firmly on the door, silently praying that Anita Malone was home.  
  
The petite redhead opened the door with her usual smile. But, her smile faded as she saw Chloe's frantic expression. "Chloe... Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm -- I'm fine. I hate to ask on such short notice, but would you mind taking Wes for an hour? I have something I need to go do. It's really important."  
  
Anita nodded and pulled Wesley into her arms immediately. "Of course, Chloe. It's not a problem at all. But, are you sure everything is okay?"  
  
Chloe nodded reassuringly and smiled at her. "Everything is fine. He just got up from a nap, so he should be in a good mood for then next hour. If you need me, I'll have my cell phone. Thank you SO much. Thank you."  
  
Chloe said a hurried goodbye and gave Wesley a quick kiss before dashing off towards the elevator. She didn't know why she was doing this, and nearly changed her mind in mid-step, but something kept pushing her forward. The elevator took her downstairs and she hurried out to her silver SUV, not even noticing the light spray of rain that had just started to fall upon Salem.  
  
She sped off towards the cemetery, her windshield wipers beating a steady rhythm in front of her that clashed with the unsteadiness of her thoughts. Chloe glanced at her reflection in the rear view mirror as she pulled into a parking space at the cemetery. She looked pale and drawn, as if she had seen a ghost, or like she was about to.  
  
Chloe slipped out of her car and jogged through the rain towards the gravesite. She saw the group of people, all in black, assembled around a large black coffin. Chloe kept her distance, remaining out of sight of all those that were there to watch Phillip Kiriakis' last goodbye. The rain had begun to fall even heavier, practically drenching her in a matter of minutes, while all the mourners had umbrellas to protect them.  
  
She saw Brady standing at his grandfather's side as promised, as Victor's wife Nicole stood on his other side. Kate, along with Phillip's siblings were there, as well as Shawn and Belle. She knew that Belle didn't want to go, but Shawn went for the same reasons as Brady, to support their grandfather, so Belle went with him. Chloe tried to read the mood of the attendees to the small, intimate service, but it was hard to tell. It was as if none of them knew whether to be sad or to be confused.  
  
As expected, Victor and Kate seemed to be the most saddened by Phillip's death, but even with them there was an underlying feeling of guilt in their eyes. Both of them had felt that Phillip's problems stemmed from their own problems and their lack of good parenting. To a point, they were right, but Chloe firmly believed that no amount of good parenting could have saved Phillip from his own insanity.  
  
The strangest thing that she noticed was that nobody seemed to cry. Chloe had made a promise to herself a long time ago not to shed any more tears over Phillip Kiriakis, and she was certainly not going to break that promise now. Her words to Brady had been correct; she felt nothing, unable to bring to surface any feelings at all for him. Not even anger or hatred. She didn't know whether to be glad that he was dead or angry because he wasn't going to spend a lifetime in prison suffering. All she wanted was closure, a sense of finality, once and for all.  
  
She stayed in one spot, letting the rain wash over her, soaking her from head to toe. His coffin was lowered into the ground in front of her eyes, and that was her cue to leave. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her back to her car and headed back home. The rain had chilled her from head to toe, causing her to shiver the entire way back to the loft.  
  
Before she went to Anita's apartment to pick up Wesley she ran upstairs and dried herself off. She blow dried her hair as quickly as possible and changed into a dry skirt and blouse. Chloe ran downstairs, gave a hearty thanks to Anita and brought Wesley back upstairs. She had him in his highchair with an afternoon snack by the time Brady returned from the funeral.  
  
Chloe smiled at him as he walked through the door, loosening his tie immediately. "Hey Diva..."  
  
"Hey... You're home a little sooner than I thought."  
  
Brady slid the door shut and shrugged slightly. "I went to the mansion with my grandfather for a little bit. But, there wasn't really much more I could say or do... So, where did you go?"  
  
Chloe handed Wesley a cookie and looked at Brady in surprise. "Go? Where did I go? What do you mean?"  
  
"I saw Mrs. Malone when I was coming in to the building. She said you went on an errand and left Wes with her."  
  
"Oh, it was no big deal really... I just needed to run out for something, and I didn't want to take Wes out in the rain."  
  
Brady looked at her in confusion, trying to monitor her facial expression as she responded to his question. He knew she was lying, but he wasn't going to call her on it just yet. Shawn had seen her at the cemetery, watched as her car made it's way out of the parking lot, and told Brady about it when they met up again at the Kiriakis mansion. So, when Anita Malone told him that Wes had been with her, it had confirmed everything he had already suspected.  
  
Part of him wanted to confront her with the truth, but he knew there must be a reason why she would hide it from him. And, in time, she would tell him. Chloe had never been able to keep secrets from him, and she wouldn't be able to keep this one for long.  
  
He responded by giving her a kiss on the cheek and a slight smile. "Okay, did you decide what you wanted to do for dinner tonight? I'm leaving it up to you, Diva."  
  
Chloe nodded and smiled back at him. "Yeah, I was just getting ready to go call the babysitter now. If she's too busy, then I'm sure my mother would love to have Wes for a few hours. I think we need to go out and have some fun..."  
  
Brady nodded in agreement and watched as Chloe walked across the living room to pick up the phone and dial their regular babysitter. It had been a strange and difficult day, for both of them. Even though Chloe would not admit it, Brady knew that she felt it too, a strange mixture of sadness, anger and confusion.  
  
He sat down in front of Wesley's high chair and spoke to his son. "Hey Mini-Me... You're sure taking your time with that cookie."  
  
Wesley had slowly got more of his cookie on his face than in his mouth, but smiled happily anyway. Brady ruffled Wesley's hair with his fingers and sighed softly. He tried to put his mind on other things, but he kept returning to Chloe. She had said today meant nothing to her, and he understood why, but still she had come to the cemetery anyway. More than anything, he wanted to know why she wouldn't tell him the truth, why she thought that hiding it from him was a good idea.  
  
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	3. chap 3

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Chapter Three  
  
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(Four Weeks Later)  
  
Chloe fastened the tiny diamond earrings and took one last look at herself in the mirror. Her long hair was swept up neatly, leaving her shoulders bare underneath the thin spaghetti straps. She had chosen a deep burgundy dress that seemed to made for her. It hit right above her knee and clinged tightly to her figure, accentuating every curve. It was formal, but still simple and comfortable.  
  
She made sure everything was in it's proper place and slowly made her way downstairs. Brady was standing near Wesley's playpen but turned to watch her when he heard the sound of her strappy burgundy heels on the stairs.  
  
"Wow... Diva... Just when I think you can't get any more beautiful..."  
  
Chloe stepped lightly off the last step and smiled at him. "Oh stop... You're looking pretty dapper yourself, Mr. Black."  
  
Brady winked at her and tugged at his black bow tie with a grin. Chloe walked closer to him and gave him a loving kiss on the mouth, trying not to smear her lipstick all over him. She buttoned his black tux jacket for him and gave him a sly wink.  
  
"You look good in a tux. Of course... You look good in jeans, in sweat pants, in a suit, in your pajamas... But you look the best in nothing at all..."  
  
Brady looked at her in mock shame. "Mrs. Black... Talking like this in front of our son? You should be ashamed of yourself..."  
  
Chloe laughed sultrily and ran her fingers lightly through his hair as she gave him another brief kiss. "He can't hear us, Brady... I just wanted to give you a little teaser for what happens after the party."  
  
"Oh. So, how long do we have to stay at this thing anyway? Do we even have to go at all?"  
  
Chloe laughed and walked away from him, bending over to pull Wesley out of the playpen. "Your sister only has one engagement party in her life... at least I hope so... We have to be there and we have to stay there for a long time."  
  
Brady nodded with an exasperated sigh. "I know. I'd just... Well, your teaser sounds a lot better than mingling with Salem's elite at the Penthouse Grill. But, I wouldn't miss my baby sister's engagement party for the world."  
  
Chloe nodded and grabbed Wesley's diaper bag off the couch, pausing to look at her son with a serious look. "Please, Wes... If you love your mommy -- do not drool, pee, spit up or make a mess on me until after the party. Okay?"  
  
Wesley had no response except to laugh and lay his head down on his mother's shoulder. Chloe smoothed his hair down with her fingers and looked back towards her husband. "I can't believe it. Can you? Shawn and Belle... Engaged. Wow."  
  
"Can't believe it? Please... Those two practically had the marriage license signed before they graduated kindergarten. Where's the surprise in that?"  
  
"I know. I just thought they were going to wait until they were out of college. This is sooner than I expected."  
  
Brady opened the loft door for her and shut it behind them as they walked into the hallway. "They're just trying to catch up to us..."  
  
Chloe chuckled as they stepped on the elevator and began recapping the game plan for the evening. "So, we're heading to my sister's house where the babysitter will watch Abby and Wes. And then..."  
  
"My father is sending a limo to pick up Jack, Jennifer and us."  
  
"Well, that's very kind of him."  
  
Brady shrugged and hit the button for the ground floor. "Well, it's a special night and my father decided to spare no expense. I'm the brother of the bride, so my group gets a limo."  
  
Chloe grinned and shifted Wes to her other side. "Snazzy..."  
  
She leaned against the wall and Brady watched her as she smiled at their son. The past four weeks had gone by smoothly and quickly, with not one single mention of Phillip or the day of the funeral. Brady had observed his wife closely, waiting for her to tell him the truth, but all he saw was a completely blissful woman, as if nothing had ever happened.  
  
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(Penthouse Grill)  
  
Chloe and Brady arrived arm in arm, with Jennifer and Jack Devereaux beside them. They first greeted John and Marlena and then dispersed into the crowd to mingle with the other guests. Brady and Chloe found Belle right away and gave her congratulatory hugs. Belle was positively glowing, and had been since Shawn's proposal less than a week ago.  
  
"Hey, you guys... You two look so great."  
  
Brady smiled sweetly at his sister and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "And you look absolutely beautiful, Tink..."  
  
"You know, when I'm a married woman you're going to have to stop calling me Tink."  
  
Brady shook his head vehemently. "No way. Not going to happen. No matter how grown up you think you are, you will always be my baby sister."  
  
Belle rolled her eyes at him and then turned to smile at Chloe. "So, Chloe... Are you SURE you're not upset that Mimi is going to be my maid of honor?"  
  
Chloe waved her hand dismissively and shook her head. "Of course I'm not upset. Don't make me tell you that again. You and Mimi made a pact when you were 7 years old, and I wouldn't want it any other way. I'm perfectly happy being a bridesmaid. By the way, where is your lucky groom?"  
  
"Uhm, I believe he's..." Belle searched the crowd with her eyes and pointed at a table in the corner. "He's right there. With your grandmother and Greta."  
  
Chloe looked in the direction she was pointing and saw Shawn on one side of Alice Horton and Greta on her other side. She put her hand on Brady's arm and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  
  
"I'm going to go over there... I want to say hi to my grandma."  
  
Brady nodded and smiled at her. "Go right ahead... I'll be over in a bit."  
  
He watched her walk away, staying quiet as he watched her greet Shawn, Alice and Greta from afar. Brady sighed softly and looked at his sister as she absentmindedly rubbed her index finger over the edge of her glass.  
  
"Tink... Does Chloe seem... okay? Do you think she's okay?"  
  
Belle looked at him in surprise, her eyebrows creasing together. "Uhm, yeah. She seems happier than ever. Don't you think so?"  
  
Brady shrugged as his gaze shifted back to Chloe on the other side of the restaurant. "I guess. I just -- She still hasn't said anything about the funeral. She hasn't said anything to you yet, has she?"  
  
"Nope. Still as quiet as a mouse."  
  
"You are one of her best friends, Belle... Why won't she tell you?"  
  
Belle sighed and laid a reassuring hand on her brother's arm. "I may be one of her best friends, but YOU are her *best* friend, you are everything to her. If she hasn't told you, she won't tell anybody. I don't think she's told Greta or Jennifer either. So..."  
  
Brady looked back at Belle and ran his tongue over his teeth as thought about Chloe's secrecy. "But why? I just want to know why she would go after what she said about feeling nothing. And, more importantly, why would she lie to me about it?"  
  
"Maybe she doesn't know why. Sometimes people do things and don't even understand why they did them. I'm sure if she could even begin to understand her reasons, she'd tell you, Brady. I know she would..."  
  
Brady frowned and wrapped an arm around his sister's shoulder. "I wish I could be sure that you're right about that, Tink... I really do."  
  
~*~  
  
Chloe was enjoying a simple conversation with her grandmother and Shawn, but all the while she was watching Greta out of the corner of her eye. She could tell something was wrong with the princess, something that she desperately wanted to talk about. Greta was usually a chatterbox, but she was suddenly quiet and had been shifting in her seat nervously.  
  
Chloe gave her grandmother a kiss on the cheek and then excused herself to the restroom, motioning for Greta to follow her. She sauntered into the ladies' room and checked to make sure all the stalls were empty as Greta came in behind her. Chloe leaned up against one of the stalls and crossed her arms over her chest, staring Greta down intently.  
  
"So Greta, what's on your mind?"  
  
Greta put one hand on the counter near the sink and sighed heavily. "How could you tell?"  
  
Chloe chuckled softly and rolled her eyes. "How could I tell? You practically have a flashing neon sign over your head that says, 'I'm hiding something'. So, what is it?"  
  
"I -- I got another letter."  
  
"When?"  
  
Greta swallowed the lump in her throat and fished in her purse for a folded up piece of paper, handing it over to Chloe as she replied. "This morning... I came back from my morning run and... It was... It was sitting on my kitchen counter."  
  
Chloe unfolded the note and read the words out loud. "The time is now. The truth will be known."  
  
Chloe folded the note back up and stared at Greta in shock. "It was on your kitchen counter? Jesus Christ, Greta... That means somebody was in your house. You can't stay there anymore. You come stay with me and Brady, or Jennifer or Hope... Just don't go back there tonight. Please. We'll leave here after the party together, we'll go to your house with Brady to get your things and you can come stay with us."  
  
Greta shook her head slowly not wanting to listen to Chloe's words. "I can't, Chloe. I can't... You're the only one who knows what's going on. You're the only one who knows the truth. If I make a big deal out of this, then everyone will know."  
  
"And if you *don't* make a big deal out of this? Everyone will find out the truth anyway, and your life will be in danger."  
  
"What does it matter? I'm not safe anywhere. Not at your house, or Jenn's or Hope's."  
  
Chloe groaned in frustration and put her hands on her hips. "This has been going on for three months, since you came back to Salem. And, I kept it a secret because you asked me to as your friend. But, I don't know if I can do that anymore. I can't lie, especially when it puts your life in danger. If we tell Brady, John, Bo... SOMEBODY... They will protect you, I promise."  
  
Chloe's voice had risen to a more frantic, slightly angry volume, and Greta sensed her friend's fear. But, Greta had her own fears about what would happen when the truth did come out. She held back her tears and absentmindedly tucked a stray piece of brown hair back into her upswept do.  
  
"Chloe... I'm -- I'm afraid too. I am... But, I'm more afraid of what will happen if everyone finds out."  
  
"You shouldn't be. Your friends will always love you, Greta, no matter what. You should be more afraid of what *he* is going to do to you."  
  
Greta was about to reply when the bathroom door swung open and Jennifer entered with a surprised smile. "Hey you two... Is everything okay?"  
  
Chloe swiftly hid the note behind her back and nodded, plastering on her best phony smile. "Yeah. Everything's just fine... Greta and I were just..."  
  
Chloe faltered but Greta picked up right where she left off. "Talking about taking a trip to the lake. You know, it's almost summer now, and I think it would be really good for everyone. Brady, Chloe and Wes. Me, you, Jack and Abby, Hope, Bo, Zack, Shawn, Belle -- the whole brood. We can get a few cabins and spend a weekend up there. What do you think?"  
  
Jennifer nodded but narrowed her eyes suspiciously, the investigative reporter in her was always looking for something else. She smiled and continued nodding in reply. "Sounds like a great idea. We haven't had one of those big family weekends in a quite a while. We'll just have to figure out what weekend to go."  
  
Chloe nodded and smiled uneasily at her sister, throwing a sideways glance to Greta that showed her frustration with the continuation of the lie. "Yeah. That's what we were discussing when you came in. We just have to find two days where everybody is available to get out there."  
  
"So... That's all that's going on?"  
  
Greta laughed and rolled her eyes at Jennifer. "Stop being so suspicious, Jenn. You're off the clock, remember?"  
  
Jennifer looked between both of them before going to the mirror to reapply her lipstick and adjust her hair. She wanted more than anything to trust her younger sister and her friend, Greta, but something was definitely off.   
  
Chloe went to the mirror and made similar adjustments to her own appearance. She slyly slipped the mysterious note back to Greta before all three women left the bathroom and returned to the party.  
  
~*~  
  
(Later)  
  
John Black playfully slapped his son on the back, nearly causing Brady to spill his drink on the floor. He snickered loudly and Brady just rolled his eyes as usual. "Hey son..."  
  
"Dad... I see you still haven't figured out a way to greet me without physical abuse."  
  
John laughed at him and grinned in reply. "No, I haven't. So, are you enjoying the party?"  
  
Brady nodded, briefly pausing to wave at Chloe who was chatting excitedly with Belle and Mimi. They were probably discussing the plans for the wedding that would take place at the end of the summer. He turned back to his father and smiled in appreciation.  
  
"Yeah, I am. You really went all out. The limo was definitely a nice touch. Thank you for that."  
  
"Only the best for my little IzzyB's engagement party. You know, especially since we didn't get to throw a party for you and Chloe."  
  
Brady chuckled and nudged his dad in the arm with his elbow. "That's because we got married two minutes after we got engaged. You aren't the only one who complained about that, you know. Nancy went nuts because she didn't get to have a huge fancy wedding for her daughter."  
  
John shrugged slightly and replied. "Well, maybe you can still have the huge fancy wedding that Nancy wants. Just for show."  
  
"Only if Chloe wanted to. I'm happy with the one we had. Having a big wedding after a small intimate wedding... I don't know... It's like going to a prom even though you graduated high school four years before that."  
  
John nodded in understanding, but his attention was diverted by Marlena waving at him from across the room. He slapped his son on the back again and Brady guarded his drink carefully as John bid him goodbye. "I have to go give my toast... See ya, kid."  
  
Brady watched as John, Marlena, Bo and Hope went to the front of the room to get everybody's attention. As Bo and Hope were toasting their son and future daughter-in-law, Jennifer had slid into the spot next to Brady, recently vacated by John.  
  
"Brady... Something's going on."  
  
Brady whipped his head around to look at her curiously. "Going on with who? Or what?"  
  
"Greta and Chloe. They're hiding something. And whatever it is... It's not good."  
  
"Are you saying that as Chloe's sister or as editor-in-chief of the Spectator?"  
  
Jennifer sighed softly and crossed her arms. "Both. My instincts as a reporter tells me that there is something suspicious going on. My instincts as a sister and a friend tells me that they need to be protected from whatever it is that they're hiding."  
  
  
Brady nodded in agreement and decided to go stand by his wife during the speeches from the parents. He looked at Jennifer, trying to reassure her before he walked away. "I think you're right, Jenn. And, I'm gonna do everything I can to protect them both."  
  
Brady made his way through the crowd of family and friends until he reached Chloe's side. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, giving her a kiss on the lips before he whispered in her ear.  
  
"I love you, Chloe..."  
  
Chloe smiled in surprise, wondering what caused Brady's sudden display of affection. "I love you too, Brady..."  
  
She sighed softly and leaned into his chest as they both turned to watch the bride and groom's parents give their speeches. John stepped up to the microphone and Marlena joked that his champagne glass was empty before he even began his toast. He shrugged nonchalantly and asked a nearby waiter for a refill. The waiter quickly obliged, filling John's glass to the top and John went to begin his toast.  
  
"First off, I'd like to thank you all for being here tonight. It's always a wonderful thing when we can come together to celebrate something so happy. I think Hope said it best when she said that Shawn and Belle were always meant to be together. There's no doubt in my mind that from the very beginning of their lives, they were put on this earth for each other. And, there is no other young man who I would trust with my daughter. Congratulations to you both, may God bless you with a full and happy life. And, I can only hope that you will have even one tenth of the happiness I have with my wife and children."  
  
John raised his glass as did the rest of the crowd. "To Shawn and Belle..."  
  
The party guests toasted to the happy couple and began sipping their champagne happily. Before John could even lift his glass to his lips, his hand began trembling and the glass slipped out of his hand, shattering on the floor below him.  
  
Marlena put her hand on his arm and looked at him with concern as his entire body began to shake slightly. Brady let go of Chloe and they both slid through the crowd as all eyes turned towards John and a silence fell across the room.  
  
John slid to the floor as they reached him, and his eyes rolled back into his head. Marlena laid him down on the floor and he started going into an even more violent seizure. Chloe searched the crowd frantically and began yelling for her stepfather Craig, who was already making his way towards them from the back of the restaurant.  
  
"CRAIG! GET OVER HERE! WE NEED A DOCTOR!"  
  
Belle looked on in fear as she and Shawn came to stand next to Brady. Brady began shouting for someone to call 911, and they observed as Marlena and Craig began checking John's vitals, trying to figure out what was wrong with him.  
  
Belle's hand was over her mouth, thick tears already welling up in her eyes. "Oh my God... What's happening?"  
  
Brady was just afraid as his little sister, but he hid his feelings, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and squeezing her tightly. "I don't know, Tink... I don't know."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Fade to Black - Cue Hourglass: [i]Doo-dooo-dooo-do-dooo... Do-do-do-do-do-do-doooo...[/i] (That's the Days of Our Lives Theme if you couldn't tell...)  
  
Man, I love those cliffhangers. 


	4. chap 4

Thanks for reading/reviewing!! Hope to have more for you soon!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter Four  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chloe poured a stream of hot coffee into a styrofoam cup and glanced around the waiting room. Belle was sitting down wrapped up in Shawn's arms, and Brady was making his hundredth lap pacing in between chairs. Chloe intercepted him as he walked towards her, forcing him to stop and take the cup of coffee in her hand.  
  
"Brady... Sit down. Have some coffee. Stay calm."  
  
Brady took the cup in his hand and looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You think coffee will keep me calm?"  
  
Chloe laid her hand on his arm and led him to the chairs across from Shawn and Belle. "It's decaf. Please, just sit down."  
  
Brady nodded and begrudgingly did as his wife asked him to. Chloe sat beside him and laid her hand on top of his as he slowly sipped the cup of coffee in his other hand. Brady sighed loudly and looked towards the floor.  
  
"I just wish there was something I could do."  
  
Chloe rubbed lazy circles over the top of his hand and nodded in understanding. "Of course you do. You're just like your father. You want to fix everything. But, you just have to trust Craig. And, Marlena is in there too, doing what she can."  
  
Belle lifted her head from Shawn's shoulder and sniffled slightly before she spoke. "What do you think they're doing in there?"  
  
"Running a lot of tests, I'm sure. And, doing everything they can to make him better. We shouldn't worry yet... It might not be something serious."  
  
Shawn nodded in agreement and brushed his hand over a stray piece of Belle's hair. "Chloe's right. There are all kinds of things that could have caused that seizure. Little things that aren't serious at all."  
  
Brady looked up from the floor and nodded in agreement. "My dad has always been so healthy. He's never had something like this happen to him. Not that I can remember."  
  
Chloe ran her fingers through Brady's hair and smiled reassuringly. "See... There's another reason to not be worried. Your dad has never had any health problems, and I'm sure this will turn out to be no big deal."  
  
The group remained mostly quiet as they continued waiting for any news on John's condition. It was quite a while later when the doors opened and Craig came through, still dressed in his tux from the party. He sat on Brady's other side as four faces looked at him with hope in their eyes.  
  
Brady was the first to speak, looking at Craig expectantly. "So... How is he?"  
  
Craig hesitated for a moment, trying to find the words to explain. "Well... It's complicated. He's fine, right now. He's awake, alert, a little weak... but okay. Marlena is with him right now."  
  
"What's the bad news, Craig?"  
  
"I wouldn't necessarily call it *bad* news. It's just... We don't know why he had the seizure."  
  
Chloe stared at him in shock, her jaw dropping slightly. "Don't know why? How can you not know why?"  
  
Craig shrugged and threw his hands up slightly. "It's the strangest thing. It's like it happened, and then we got him here, put him on some medication to stop the seizure... and now, it's like it never happened at all. Dr. Murphy and I have run every test we can think of, but so far, we've come up with nothing."  
  
Belle's blue eyes were wide with surprise. "So far? There are other tests, right? I mean -- you WILL find out why this happened. Won't you?"  
  
"Of course we will. Dr. Murphy is in the lab right now running more tests. We will get an answer, and we're going to keep John here until we find out what's wrong."  
  
"Can we -- Can we seem him please?"  
  
Craig stood and nodded his approval. "Absolutely... Come with me."  
  
The four others stood from their seats and followed Craig down the hallway to the small private room. John was sitting up in bed, looking tired but perfectly healthy and Marlena sat at his side. Brady and Belle gave hugs to their father, and every one stood around the bed waiting for someone to speak up.  
  
John looked between each of them and grinned slightly. "So, how did the rest of the party go?"  
  
Belle sighed in frustration and rolled her eyes. "Dad... Everybody went home. I think we'll have to make about a hundred phone calls to let everyone know that you're doing okay."  
  
"Maybe you should just run an ad in the newspaper, or broadcast it on the local news."  
  
Brady crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. He knew that John was just trying to keep things light, attempting to get everyone's mind off of his mysterious condition. The conversation stayed fairly normal, even though the tension was still visible in everyone. They waited for only a short time, all heads turning to watch Dr. Colin Murphy as he entered the room, a solemn look on his face.  
  
John eyed him curiously and greeted him. "Dr. Murphy..."  
  
"Mr. Black, Dr. Evans..." Colin smiled politely at the rest of the room and then fixed his gaze on Craig. "Dr. Wesley... I got the results back on the last series of tests that we ran."  
  
It seemed that every set of lungs in the room filled with air, holding their breath as they waited for the latest test results. Craig stared at Colin with an impatient glare.  
  
"And? What's going on, Dr. Murphy?"  
  
"It's -- It's quite shocking really. Mr. Black -- You were poisoned."  
  
Quiet gasps sounded throughout the room, and even John looked surprised, his famous eyebrow raising as he stared at both doctors. "Poisoned?"  
  
Chloe was the first one to truly question him, as the rest of the room was still in shock. "If you don't mind me asking, Dr. Murphy... What kind of poison gives somebody a seizure and then everything goes back to normal?"  
  
Colin sighed and looked towards the floor for a moment, a sense of foreboding falling across the room. He looked back up and answered Chloe, but looked at John and Marlena as he spoke.  
  
"It's a very rare poison. I've only heard of two cases of it. One of them I treated myself in Ireland. The poison was created by..."  
  
John spoke through clenched teeth, finishing Colin's sentence. "Stefano DiMera..."  
  
Chloe took a couple of steps backwards resting her hands against the wooden cabinet behind her as she looked around at the reactions of those assembled around John's bed. That was certainly not the name any of them wanted to hear right now, especially her.  
  
Colin nodded in reply and continued. "Yes, John... Stefano DiMera. I treated one of his employees from the Ireland sector. I guess this particular employee was disloyal to the DiMeras, and Stefano wanted him to suffer."  
  
Marlena was fighting back tears as she clutched her husband's hand. "Suffer? So... It's not over, yet? The effects of the poison?"  
  
"Not by a long shot. There's no easy way to say this... This poison is very deceptive. It makes you feel like you're perfectly healthy one moment, but all the while it's shutting your system down. The seizure was the first sign. Right now, you feel okay, Mr. Black. But, it's inside you, destroying you quietly."  
  
"But there... There has to be a cure, right? An antidote of some sort?"  
  
Colin shrugged slightly and replied. "There might be. But, I'd say it's a safe guess that the only one who knows where to find it is DiMera."  
  
There was a long silent pause that wasn't broken until John finally decided to speak the words that were on everyone's minds. "So... The other victims of this poison? They are... dead. Right?"  
  
"Yes. I did everything I could to save that man in Ireland, but all I could do was to make him as comfortable as possible for the two weeks he was in my care. I'm sorry... I wish I could give you better news."  
  
Belle had been crying quietly as she was wrapped in the circle of Shawn's arms. She barely rasped out her words, devastated at the news that Colin was giving them. "Two weeks? Are you saying my father could be dead in two weeks? And there's NOTHING we can do?"  
  
Brady was shaking his head in denial and Chloe stood at his side rubbing a reassuring hand over his back. He looked towards his father and spoke with his usual confidence, even though inside he was torn apart. "There has to be something we can do. We'll hunt down Stefano and get that damned antidote. I'm not going to just sit here and do nothing. I'm not going to let you die."  
  
John nodded slightly and looked towards Shawn. "Shawn... Can you call your father for me? Have him call Roman and Abe, get in touch with the ISA, see what we can find out about Stefano's whereabouts, and a possible antidote."  
  
Shawn nodded in understanding as Belle slipped out of his arms. Belle walked around the bed and sat next to her mother, so the two women could lean on each other for support.  
  
"Sure, John... I'll go out in the hallway and call right away."  
  
Shawn departed and John began to slide out of his bed like he was going to get up and walk out of the hospital. Marlena grabbed his arm and forced him to stay where he was. "And just where do you think you're going?"  
  
John was seething with anger because of another dastardly DiMera plan. He turned to his wife with a determined glare. "I'm getting out of here so I can figure out how to find that sonofabitch."  
  
There was only one person on earth who could match John's determination, forcing him to back down, and that was his wife. "Oh, no you don't. You stay right here. This is all about your health, and you're not going to beat this by gallivanting all across the world."  
  
"But --"  
  
Brady interrupted him abruptly. "Dad, she's right. I know that you're used to being the hero, the guy who swoops in and saves the day. But, this time... You're the one that needs saving. And, that's what we're going to do. Okay?"  
  
John nodded slightly and reluctantly slid back into bed. Chloe had remained silent since Stefano's name had first been uttered, her mind was racing with so many thoughts, all while she was trying to stand by her husband's side. A sudden flash of light filled her head and she gasped softly. Brady turned his head to look at her with surprise.  
  
"Chloe... What is it?"  
  
"It's -- It's Greta... Has anyone seen her? I mean, with all the confusion at the restaurant and everything. I didn't see her."  
  
Brady shrugged nonchalantly, the princess was certainly not the first thing on his mind right now. "No, I didn't see her. But, I'm sure she's okay. She probably just went home to wait for a phone call from you about John. That's what everyone else did."  
  
Chloe shook her head vehemently as a chill slowly ran up her spine. Brady didn't have the information that she had, didn't know that Greta herself was in danger. "No, Brady... I -- I just need to find her. I need to call her."  
  
"Chloe, why are you panicking? Greta isn't in danger, is she?"  
  
Chloe bit her lip nervously, not wanting to bring everyone else into her paranoia until she knew for sure what was going on. "I -- I don't know, Brady. But, I think she might be able to help us. Help us find the antidote. I'm gonna go call her..."  
  
Chloe rushed towards the door and Brady tried to stop her with his voice, calling out to her as she opened the door. "Chloe! WAIT! How can she help?"  
  
She paused halfway through the door and turned to him to reply. "I'll tell you as soon as I find out where she is."  
  
Chloe didn't wait for a response, she walked out in to the hallway and let the door shut behind her, leaving behind a room full of confused people. Colin dismissed himself soon after to go make calls to his colleagues in Europe, hoping to find some solutions to the problem. Chloe went to the payphones where Shawn was talking to his father, and both nodded at each other in acknowledgement.  
  
She picked up the phone and first dialed Greta's house, but got no answer and no machine. Chloe next dialed her cellphone number and received the voicemail message. She muttered curse words under her breath, garnering a surprised look from Shawn who was still on the phone next to her.  
  
"Shawn... Are you on the phone with your dad?"  
  
Shawn nodded and Chloe continued with her request. "Would you mind asking if they've seen Greta since John collapsed?"  
  
Shawn nodded again and Chloe dialed her sister's house, waiting for two rings until Jennifer picked up the phone. "Hello..."  
  
"Jenn, it's me."  
  
"Chloe... Is everything okay?"  
  
"Well, not really. It looks like John was poisoned, by Stefano DiMera. He's okay right now, but the poison can do some pretty serious damage -- fatal damage. But, that's not why I'm calling. I'm looking for Greta."  
  
There was a hesitant pause and Jennifer's voice came back as both curious and confused. "Greta? I -- I haven't seen her since before John gave his toast. What's going on?"  
  
Chloe sighed softly and frowned. "I -- I can't really say. But, I need to find her as soon as possible. How is Wes?"  
  
"He's fine, he's sleeping peacefully right now. Jack is on his way to the hospital right now though."  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
Jennifer chuckled softly and continued. "He's my best reporter, that's why. Listen, Chloe... I am your sister, and you can tell me anything. If Greta is in danger, you can tell me. I can help you and so can Brady."  
  
Chloe frowned sadly and put her forehead on the cool metal of the payphone. "Jenn... I want to tell you, I do. And, I will... as soon as I find out where Greta is. Please kiss Wes for me... And, I'll call you back in a little while."  
  
"Chloe, please, don't hang up yet..."  
  
"I'm -- I'm sorry. I have to go. I have to find Greta. I'm sorry." Chloe put the phone back in the cradle with a sigh and turned to look at Shawn. Shawn was hanging up the phone at the same time and looked at her with a shrug. "So, your parents haven't seen Greta either?"  
  
"Not since before they gave their toasts..."  
  
"Damnit... Damnit..."  
  
They walked back to the hospital room together, with Chloe shaking her head and frowning all the way there. Once back inside, Shawn looked immediately to John to tell him about his phone call.  
  
"My dad and Roman are on their way over right now. They've already called the ISA to see what they can do."  
  
"Thank you, Shawn... Chloe, did you find Greta?"  
  
Chloe's face was contorted with visible worry as Brady put his hand on her shoulder and looked at her, waiting for an answer. "Chloe... Did you find her?"  
  
"No, no I didn't... I need to go to her house. See if maybe she's there and just not answering the phone or something. Hope and Jenn don't know where she is either, and there's no answer on her cellphone."  
  
"Let me go with you... If there's some kind of danger, you shouldn't go there by yourself."  
  
Chloe shook her head and managed to give him a weak smile. "No, Brady... You need to stay here with your dad and your sister. You probably want to be here when Roman and Bo get here anyway... So, I can... I can... I can take Shawn. Right, Shawn? You'll go with me?"  
  
Shawn nodded in agreement and smiled at her. "Absolutely. If Belle doesn't need me, of course..."  
  
Belle had her head on Marlena's shoulder and she lifted it up to smile at them both. "I'm fine... Go ahead, Shawn."  
  
Chloe smiled wider and tried to reassure her husband. "See... Shawn and I can take care of each other, just fine. And, we will both have our cellphones on the whole time. I promise."  
  
Brady nodded and gave her a brief embrace and a quick kiss on the lips. "Okay, okay... Just be careful, Diva..."  
  
"I will... Of course, I will."  
  
Chloe waited for Shawn to say goodbye to Belle and then they left the room, heading towards the outside doors. Shawn looked at her curiously, still unsure of why she was so worried about Greta.  
  
"Chloe... What are you hoping to find by going over to Greta's?"  
  
"I'm hoping to find Greta in her pajamas with a pint of Ben & Jerry's, feet propped up, watching Snow White and the ringer on her phone turned off. That's what I WANT to see."  
  
Shawn opened the door for her and they stepped into the night air together. "Okay, let me rephrase... What do you *think* we might find?"  
  
Chloe ran her tongue over her lower lip and shrugged sadly. "I don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead yet. Come on..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I wasn't planning on leaving it there, I was going to write more, but this chapter was starting to get long. So, the next chapter is what happens at Greta's house and other stuff.  
  
Is it moving too fast, too slow? Am I being too mysterious? Tell me what's on your mind. :) You know me and my lack of confidence... LOL. Give me feedback! 


	5. chap 5

~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter Five  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Greta's house was dark as Shawn and Chloe made up their walk, and that only increased Chloe's concern for her friend. They stood at the door and Shawn looked at Chloe uneasily as they were both frozen in place.  
  
"So what do we do now?"  
  
Chloe looked at him, a slight grin curling up on the corners of her lips. "Well, polite people usually ring the doorbell."  
  
Shawn rolled his eyes and leaned forward to tap the doorbell, exhaling slowly as they waited for a response. After a few moments, he rang the doorbell again but still got no response. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at his companion with raised eyebrows.  
  
"NOW what do we do, smart-girl?"  
  
Chloe nodded and went to one of the large planters that lined the walk up to Greta's front door. She pushed it aside with a loud grunt and found the shiny silver key underneath. She held it up so that the moonlight would bounce off it as she smiled proudly at Shawn.  
  
"Key..."  
  
"At least it wasn't under the welcome mat. That would have been too obvious."  
  
Chloe nodded in agreement and unlocked the door, pushing it open and ushering Shawn inside with a wave of her hand. They entered the house and Chloe turned on the light, illuminating Greta's cozy little home.  
  
Shawn began walking into the bedrooms shouting Greta's name, as Chloe looked around the living room, seeing nothing out of place at all. Shawn came back in through the hallway and shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"I think we can safely say she's not here... Did you try calling her cellphone again?"  
  
Chloe frowned and grabbed the phone off the end table, dialing the number's to Greta's cellphone. She heard a ringing, but not just in the earpiece, from somewhere inside the house. Her eyes widened and she looked at Shawn who also heard it.  
  
"She must have left her phone here... Damnit..."  
  
Shawn went towards the sound of the ringing and Chloe stayed on the line until he found it. He came out of the hallway again with Greta's tiny cellphone in his left hand. Chloe sighed loudly and hung up the phone, walking towards him so he could hand her the cellphone. Shawn motioned towards Greta's bedroom and explained.  
  
"It was on her bed, under a pile of evening gowns. For a princess, she is not that organized."  
  
Chloe stared at the display on the phone and nodded in agreement. "No, she definitely is not."  
  
Chloe surfed through the missed calls seeing her phone call from the hospital, as well as recent calls from Jennifer and Hope. Both of them made after Chloe had begun searching for the princess. She cleared the missed calls and the phone beeped at her telling her that Greta had one unread text message.  
  
She jumped in surprise and looked at Shawn. "It says somebody sent her a text message... Should I read it?"  
  
Shawn shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "If you think it will help us."  
  
Chloe nodded and tapped the button to read the message. She gripped the phone tightly in her hand as the words on the display flashed in front of her eyes. "Oh my God... Oh no..."  
  
"What is it, Chloe? What does it say?"  
  
"It says -- 'It's time to come home.'" Chloe looked towards the floor for a moment, tears welling up in her eyes suddenly. "The time on the message -- it's just a couple minutes before John got up to give his toast... I can't believe this."  
  
Shawn stared at her in confusion. "What do you think it means?"  
  
"I think they used John's collapse as a diversion to kidnap Greta."  
  
"They who? Who would kidnap Greta?"  
  
Chloe went to Greta's large wooden desk and sat down, muttering her reply under her breath. "I have a pretty good feeling who..."  
  
She began rummaging through Greta's drawers, looking for a stack of notes similar to the one she had seen in the bathroom at the Penthouse Grill earlier. She finally found a large brown envelope and looked inside to see a stack of folded notes and tiny cards. She closed the flap with a sigh and stood up from the chair.  
  
"Let's go..."  
  
Chloe began rushing towards but Shawn grabbed on to her arm to stop her. "Hey! Slow down... What the hell is going on? Who took Greta and where are we going?"  
  
She sighed softly, her face creased with worry. "It's complicated... Let's just go back to the hospital where I can explain everything to everyone. Come on, we don't have any time to waste..."  
  
They walked out the door and as they were walking down the pathway towards the car, Shawn stared at her in complete surprise. He looked at her as if he hardly knew her, even though they had been friends for over five years.  
  
"So, you and Greta have been hiding this big secret from everyone..."  
  
Chloe stood in front of the car and gave him an exasperated sigh. "Yes, Shawn. We have. Please do not chastise me right now, because I know I'm going to get plenty of that from my husband."  
  
Shawn nodded in understanding and the two friends got in the car to head back to the hospital. Chloe stayed quiet, nervously tapping her fingers on the envelope the entire ride back. She was trying to figure out how she was going to tell everyone the truth about Greta. She also wondered exactly how hurt Brady would be when he found out she had been keeping something from him.  
  
The entire way back to the hospital, through the hallways and back to John's room was spent in silence. Shawn was at a loss, still surprised at the mystery that was unfolding in front of him, and Chloe had too much going on in her head to speak.  
  
When they walked into John's room, all heads turned to fix their gazes on Shawn and Chloe. Belle and Marlena were still in the seats they had occupied before, and Brady sat on the other side of the bed, lounging comfortably. Bo was leaning against the wall and they had apparently been discussing strategies and solutions for the problem at hand.  
  
Brady was the first one to speak up, looking Chloe directly in the eyes as he spoke. "So... Did you find her?"  
  
"No, we didn't. I think -- I think that John's poisoning was part of a diversion. One used to kidnap Greta."  
  
A chorus of gasps rang out and Bo stared at her skeptically. "Can you please explain why you would think that?"  
  
Chloe exhaled slowly and nodded. "I would love to. But, honestly, I don't know where to begin... Because, this is going to shock the hell out of every single one of you."  
  
Marlena spoke in her reassuring motherly tone. "Why don't you start from the very beginning? What is going on, Chloe?"  
  
Chloe smoothed a piece of stray hair down with her fingers and threw one more glance towards Brady. She had a hard time reading his expression, and her stomach churned thinking about how he was going to react. Chloe took one long deep breath before she began her story.  
  
"Okay, from the beginning... The last time that we were in Paris, visiting Greta... It was about a month before she moved back to Salem. I got up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water, and I heard crying. I found her in the living room of her house, looking at a picture of her mother. So, I went and sat down with her, and we started talking. And, she started confiding in me... Things that she had never told anyone."  
  
Chloe paused sadly as she remembered the look on Greta's face that night, so full of pain and anguish. She swallowed the lump in her throat and continued. "She told me that right before Princess Gina died, she told Greta who her father was. And, in all that time, Greta never told a single soul. Not until that night in Paris could she even say it out loud. I don't know why it happened then, or why it was me that she told... I just -- I guess she was feeling vulnerable, and when you hold something in for that long... You just need to get it out."  
  
Brady looked at her expectantly, and surprisingly, he didn't look mad at her. At least not yet. "Come on, Diva... Don't leave us in suspense. Go on."  
  
"I swore to Greta, I made a promise that I would never tell anyone her secret. But, I told her earlier tonight that I thought her life was in danger and I would have to tell... Oh God, I didn't know how right I was..."  
  
John cleared his throat and interjected. "If what you have to say can help save Greta... can help me... I think she'll understand that you had to break your promise."  
  
Chloe nodded in agreement, her wide blue eyes filling with tears. "I know. I know she will. so that's why I'm going to tell you. Greta's father, according to Gina, is Stefano DiMera. And, that's why I think that her being missing is connected to your poisoning."  
  
Chloe didn't pause to look at the reactions of those around her, she opened up the brown envelope and spilled the stack of notes on to John's bed. "And, also because of these... He's been... stalking her for the last three months..."  
  
John sat up to look at the stack of folded up notes that were now on his bed. "He's been stalking her for three months, and neither of you told anybody?"  
  
"I'm so sorry... I wanted to. I *knew* that keeping it a secret was a bad idea, but I made a promise to Greta not to tell. And now... I wish I had broken that promise a long time ago... She's been getting these notes, and e-mails from untraceable addresses since she moved back to Salem."  
  
Shawn interjected with a question. "So, Stefano must know that Greta is his daughter. Right?"  
  
Chloe shrugged and turned to look at Shawn. "I don't know how. She says that Gina never told *anyone* about Stefano being her father. Never even told Stefano... And, there's no evidence, no DNA tests, nothing to prove it... He must have figured it out somehow though. Obviously."  
  
Belle was the next one with a question. "But why? Why tonight? And, why would he do this to my dad too?"  
  
"The notes... They're all about honor, loyalty, family, home... Things like that. I haven't seen all of them, but I've seen or heard what was in most of them. It's no secret that there is no love lost between Stefano and your father, Belle."  
  
John nodded in agreement and continued Chloe's thought. "It's just another game. Another way to destroy me and my family, and bring Greta into the DiMera family in the process. Stefano gets to hurt me and he gets to bring his daughter home."  
  
Bo snickered and shook his head, his own anger written all over his face. "Two for one night at the Penthouse Grill."  
  
"That sonofabitch... This is all just fun to him. And, I have a feeling that this isn't over by a long shot."  
  
Brady looked at John curiously, his eyebrows pursed together in confusion. "Why do you say that?"  
  
Chloe interrupted and looked towards her husband sadly. "You find Greta, you find the antidote? Right? It can't be as simple as it sounds. There has to be a catch. He has something else up his sleeves..."  
  
Marlena was sighing softly, trying to maintain her calm, even though she was still digesting all of this new information. "Then we'll figure out what it is... Bo, Roman, the ISA, all of us... We'll stop him, we'll find the antidote and we'll bring Greta home... What I don't understand is why didn't Greta tell anyone about these notes, about any of this..."  
  
"She didn't want anyone to know that she's a DiMera. She knows how the people of this town feel about that name, and she was doing everything she could to disassociate herself from it. And... when the notes started coming... She was afraid that she would be putting herself and the rest of us in even more danger by saying something about it. She wanted to keep a low profile, not make Stefano think that she was scared. I know, it was probably a mistake..."  
  
Bo crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head in shame. "You two should have said something. Greta should have known better. She should have known that we would have loved her no matter who her father is... And, I can't believe that this continued on after the two of you realized that Stefano was stalking her."  
  
Chloe felt a couple of hot tears begin to drop out of her eyes and slowly make their way down her cheeks. She swallowed loudly, feeling the guilt of her lies chewing at her insides. Her tone of voice was solemn and filled with anguish. "I'm sorry, Bo. I'm -- I'm sorry to all of you. And... God knows, if something happens to Greta and if John doesn't make it through this, then I'm going to have to live with what I did for the rest of my life. I kept things from people I care about, and because of that, you are all in even more danger than you would have been already. I'm sorry... I am so sorry..."  
  
Chloe's voice has begun to break up as she came to the end of her words. Her tears began falling faster, and all she could think about was the feel of the walls closing in on her. A quiet sob came from her throat and she gave Brady a glance of complete sorrow before choking out her next sentence. "I -- I'm sorry... I just... I need some air."  
  
She turned on her heel and ran through the door, speeding down the hallway until she reached the doors that led outside. The warm night air hit her and her entire body began shaking with loud sobs. She put her hand up against the wall near the entrance for support, as all of her fear, anger and sadness began to hit her at the same time. The sound of her crying was heart-wrenching, and just as Chloe thought she was going to collapse in a heap, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her from behind.  
  
Brady held on to her and turned her around in his arms. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and Chloe laid her head down on his strong chest, feeling instantly safe in his arms. "Shhhh... Chloe... It's okay. It's all going to be okay."  
  
"But, Brady... Aren't you mad at me? I -- I lied to you..."  
  
Chloe lifted her head and Brady wiped her tears away with the tips of his fingers. His tone wasn't angry at all, just slightly stern. "Yes, I am mad. But... I understand. Sometimes secrets have to be kept."  
  
Chloe shook her head, speaking through a voice filled with tears. "But -- but -- If I had said something, maybe we wouldn't be here right now. Maybe your dad would be okay... and maybe, Greta would too."  
  
"You don't know that for sure. If Stefano wants to do something, he'll do it. Maybe if we had known, we could have protected them better... But, even then, we don't know for sure. Please don't think this is your fault. It's not. The important thing is we know now, and we're going to do everything we can to figure out how to save both of them."  
  
Chloe frowned and nodded slightly, still not completely reassured by his words, even though Brady always made her feel better. She sniffled softly and looked into his eyes, desperate to apologize for her actions. "Brady, I am so sorry... I didn't want to keep this from you. And, I was so mad at Greta for making me promise not to tell. I just -- I didn't know what to do. I wanted to tell you, but I -- I couldn't."  
  
Brady brushed his fingers over her shiny dark hair and Chloe laid her head back down on his chest with a sigh. His arms were wrapped around her, and he began thinking about the other secret his wife was keeping from him, wondering if she felt any guilt about that particular lie or if she even thought about it at all. He was trying his hardest not to be angry with her, to be understanding and forgiving, to trust in her love above all else.  
  
"Chloe, it's okay. You made a promise to a friend, and you kept it. Despite your better judgement, you remained true to that friendship. I respect that... But, you have to know, you can tell me anything... I want you to always tell me what's going on. Never be afraid to talk to me."  
  
Chloe slid out of his arms and smiled weakly at him as she looked into his eyes. "God, Brady... How do you do it?"  
  
Brady raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Do what?"  
  
"Catch me whenever I fall. How do you always find a way to support me even when I've done something like this?"  
  
"Because, I love you, Chloe. And, that's what love does... It forgives and it supports, no matter what."  
  
Chloe wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, her smile widening at his words. "I love you too, Brady."  
  
Brady drew her back in and gave her a loving kiss on the lips. She broke off the kiss, staring deep into his eyes as if she had something important she wanted to tell him. Brady looked at her expectantly, and she took a deep breath in before speaking.  
  
"Brady, I have to tell you... I --"  
  
Before she could finish, the doors swung open and Belle was there shouting at them. "Brady! Chloe! You have to see what they found! Come on!"  
  
She motioned towards the inside and hurried through the doors. Brady held on to Chloe's hand as they ran after his little sister, but his mind wandered to whatever Chloe was about to say before they were interrupted. He wondered if she was about to tell him about the day of Phillip's funeral, or perhaps it was something else. And now, he would just have to wait to find out.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 


	6. chap 6

~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter Six  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Brady and Chloe followed Belle back to the hospital room, where everyone was gathered around the bed looking over the notes that belonged to Greta. Brady eyed his little sister curiously and spoke first.  
  
"So, Tink... What's the red alert all about?"  
  
Belle motioned towards Shawn and replied. "Go ahead, Shawn... Show them what you found."  
  
Shawn had a small ivory card in his hand, taken from all the notes that had been sent to Greta. "Chloe, you were right, most of these notes are about family, honor and loyalty. When you put all of them together, it's pretty obvious that tonight was about both Greta and John. But..."  
  
Shawn handed her the card and continued. "Have you seen this one?"  
  
Chloe opened the flap of the card and looked at the handwritten words in front of her, as Brady stared over her shoulder. She said the words out loud, shaking her head as she spoke. "'The game has many players.' -- Uhm, no, I haven't see this one... My God, what does it mean?"  
  
Bo looked at her with complete seriousness in his eyes. "Exactly what you think it means. John was right. This is a game, and the game is not over by a long shot. Hold the card up to the light, Chloe... Tell me what you see."  
  
Brady and Chloe walked closer to the light above John's bed and held up the card. The light shined through the ivory paper, illuminating a watermark ingrained in the paper, a line with a series of letters. Brady stared at it in confusion and then looked at Bo. "It's letters... Not words... Just letters."  
  
"Read them out loud."  
  
Chloe nodded slightly and did as instructed. "G - V - A"  
  
Bo spoke after each set of letters, explaining their meaning. "Greta Von Amberg."  
  
"J - B"  
  
"John Black."  
  
"B - V - B"  
  
"Brady Victor Black."  
  
Chloe cringed as a chill ran up her spine, not needing Bo's explanation anymore. "C - H - B. Chloe Horton Black. I get it..."  
  
Brady tapped the last set initials and looked at them curiously. "K - J - M. Who is that?"  
  
Chloe brought the note away from the light and shrugged, looking around to see if anyone else could explain. "Looks like we have a mystery guest..."  
  
"So, now this means that this mystery person, myself and Chloe are also players in his demented little game... Right?"  
  
John nodded in agreement, his anger just simmering below the surface of each of his words. "Looks like it."  
  
Chloe sighed loudly and Brady put his arm around her shoulder as she questioned the note in her hand. "But... Why? Why me and Brady? Stefano usually has some sort of method behind his madness. But, Brady and I -- we've never been involved with any DiMera problems before. We have nothing to do with this..."  
  
"Brady is my son, which automatically makes him a target. And, you, Chloe... I don't know what Stefano wants with you. Maybe it's just because of your associations with Greta and my family."  
  
Marlena spoke up looking between her husband and Bo Brady for answers. "What happens now? Now that we have this..."  
  
Bo came forward and took the card from Chloe's hand slowly. "Maybe Stefano thinks that Brady and Chloe will be the ones to go after him, to find the antidote and find Greta. He's trying to draw you in..."  
  
Brady nodded and quickly interjected. "Then that's what I'll do. I'll go to wherever I have to. I'll bring Greta and that antidote home."  
  
Chloe slipped her hand into his and squeezed it tightly. "I'm going too. If that's what he wants, that's what we'll do."  
  
"Chloe, no... You can't... It's too dangerous."  
  
Chloe gave him her patented 'look'. The one that reminded him who was really in charge in their household. "Brady, if you go, I go. Period. We're in this together, no matter what."  
  
Belle was the first one to protest, shaking her head vehemently and raising her voice. "Oh no. NEITHER of you are going. I mean, are you competely NUTS?!? You're walking into a trap if you go anywhere near Stefano DiMera."  
  
"Belle..."  
  
Bo interrupted him with a wave of his hand. "No, Brady, your sister is right. Stefano is setting both of you up for something. If you go after him, you're playing right into his hand, and you're putting yourselves in danger. Let the proper authorities handle it this time."  
  
Brady sighed in frustration and ran his fingers through his blonde hair. "Listen, Bo... It's not that I don't trust the 'proper authorities', I just feel like storming in there like the invasion at Normandy is only going to put Greta at more risk."  
  
"This isn't your decision, Brady. Don't interfere with the ISA. They will find Greta and they will find the antidote. I'm not even supposed to be telling you this, but for the past eight months, they've had one of their agents working in the DiMera organization. A mole, I guess you would call it. They'll know where DiMera is going before he even gets there. Trust me."  
  
"I can't... I can't just sit around and not do something. I have to do SOMETHING, Bo... If you were in my place, you would do the same. Wouldn't you?"  
  
As much as the others were worried for Brady and Chloe's safety, they knew what he was saying was the truth. They all wanted to stop Stefano and protect their loved ones, even if they had to risk their own lives to do it.   
  
Bo nodded slightly, knowing that he couldn't stop Brady no matter how hard he tried. "You're right. I would... And, I know that you're just like your father. If you want to do something, you'll do it. Whether all of us advise against it or not, it doesn't matter."  
  
Chloe looked around the room with a slight grin. "You're right, Bo. You can't stop a Black from doing something they have their mind set on."  
  
Belle was completely crestfallen, shaking her head in denial. "But... What about Wesley?"  
  
Chloe's face looked pained at the mention of her son. "He'll be fine. He can stay with Jenn or with my parents. They'll take care of him while we're gone."  
  
"I didn't mean that. I meant, the two of you running off like this... What if... God forbid... What if something happens to both of you?"  
  
Belle's words ripped through both of them harshly, neither of them wanted to turn their child into an orphan, but they were both still determined to do what they had to do. Brady let go of Chloe's hand and walked around the bed to pull his sister into a comforting embrace.  
  
"Tink... That is NOT going to happen. We will be just fine. We'll come back here with Greta and with the antidote for the poison. We will..."  
  
Belle lifted her head from his chest and frowned at him. "Brady, you don't know that for sure. I mean, contrary to what you may believe, you DON'T know everything."  
  
Brady looked into her eyes, trying to keep her as calm as possible. "Isabella Black... Have I EVER let you down?"  
  
There was a quiet pause as Belle thought back to all of the times that Brady had been there to save her. She smiled weakly and shook her head. "No, you haven't."  
  
"And, I'm not going to start now." Brady looked over her head and towards his father. "I won't let any of you down... I swear I can do this."  
  
John smiled slightly and nodded. "I have faith in you, son."  
  
"Thanks, Dad."  
  
Brady let go of his sister and looked towards Marlena who was smiling at him with motherly pride. "Brady... You are a very courageous and amazing person."  
  
She glanced towards Chloe and gave her the same smile. "And you too, Chloe..."  
  
Chloe smiled back at her and nodded slightly. "John and Greta are just like family to me, just as much as the Hortons and Nancy and Craig... I would do anything for all of you."  
  
Bo glanced at his watch and then looked at Brady. "I have to go back to the station, but Brady, if you want to come with me... Just... Stay in the background, don't speak up or anything. Behave yourself and we'll get a lock a DiMera's location."  
  
Brady nodded enthusiastically and gave hugs to Belle, Marlena and John before turning back to Bo. "Alright, let's go... Chloe?"  
  
Chloe had given hugs to everone as well and she looked at her husband to reply to him. "Uhm, actually... Do you think you could drop me off at my sister's house? I want to make arrangements for Wes to stay there, or stay with my mother."  
  
Bo nodded in understanding and the three of them headed towards the door. "Absolutely, it's on the way..."  
  
Chloe opened the door to step into the hallway and ran smack dab into Jack. "Jack... Hey, I think I found another ride..."  
  
Bo looked at him in surprise. "You're still here?"  
  
"After I talked to you, I went and interviewed the distinguished University Hospital staff. And, now I'm back... Chloe, what was that about a ride?"  
  
Chloe pushed him further into the hallway and smiled. "Well, I was going to have Bo and Brady drop me off at your house. But, now that you're here you can take me."  
  
Jack stammered as he pointed towards the hospital room. "But, I -- I need more... I heard something about Greta, and I, uhm..."  
  
Chloe grabbed him by the arm and began walking with him down the hallway. "And, you'll get everything you need... Just take me to my sister. I promise you'll have an amazing story in the Spectator tomorrow."  
  
Chloe looked back at Bo and Brady who were staring at her with amusement. Bo cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows as a warning. "Chloe... Not TOO much of the story. We have lives to protect."  
  
Chloe nodded and smiled reassuringly. "Of course, I will be discreet. Brady... Call me when you get some information."  
  
Brady nodded and gave her a brief kiss before heading off with Bo in the opposite direction of where she and Jack were going. Chloe hooked her arm around Jack's and grinned at him. "Come on, Devereaux... Let's go get you started on that story of a lifetime."  
  
Chloe and Jack headed down the hallway arm in arm, and Jack grinned back at her. "Have I ever mentioned how glad I am that you and I are family?"  
  
Chloe chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Just don't forget to thank me when you get your Pulitzer Prize, brother-in-law."  
  
~*~  
  
Jack and Jennifer sat and listened in amazement as Chloe gave them all the information she had. She finished describing everything about John's poisoning, Greta's kidnapping and the mysterious notes as the room fell silent. The only sound was the whirring of Jack's tape recorder sitting in the middle of the coffee table.  
  
Chloe looked between her sister and brother-in-law, smiling uneasily. "Listen, the only reason I gave you all that detail was because you are my family. I trust you both with my life, and that's why you HAVE to keep certain things out of the press. Mine and Brady's name especially, and the thing about the initals also. I trust your judgement on how to write this, so don't let me down."  
  
Jennifer nodded solemnly and replied. "Of course, Chloe... Jack and I will do everything we can to protect all of you. You have my word."  
  
"Thank you..."  
  
Jack clicked off the tape recorder and stared at Chloe in shock. "This is all pretty amazing stuff. And you and Brady are really going to go after Stefano?"  
  
Chloe shrugged nervously and sighed. "I -- I guess so. It's the only thing we can do."  
  
Jennifer nudged her husband in the arm with the sharp point of her elbow, and gave him her 'I'm still the boss' look. "Jack, you better get over to the office and start writing. Fax me the story as soon as you finish it. I want to make sure this is front page, morning edition."  
  
Jack stood from the couch and gave her a mock salute, along with a crooked grin. "Yes, ma'am. Hi-ho, Hi-ho, it's back to work I go..."  
  
Chloe chuckled softly and waved at him as he went out the front door, sighing as she turned back to face her sister. "Are you sure that you don't mind taking care of Wes while we're gone?"  
  
Jennifer waved her hand dismissively and smiled. "Of course I'm sure. Wes is always welcome here. I'll take care of him for as long as you need me to."  
  
"Well, if you can't for any reason, or you're too busy at work... I'm sure my mom and dad would love to have him. Or even Hope."  
  
"Speaking of... How do you think your mom is going to react to you going after Stefano DiMera? Have you even told her yet?"  
  
Chloe cringed with fear and shook her head. "No, I haven't. I think it's safe to say that my mom will NOT be happy and will do everything in her power to keep me from going. Which, I'm surprised you're not trying to do..."  
  
Jennifer shrugged slightly and threw up her hands in defeat. "I would be, but I know you. You're just like your husband, your mother and most of the other Horton women. Stubborn as hell. If you want to do this, then I know that I can't stop you. Now... are YOU sure you want to do this?"  
  
Chloe blurted out the first response that came to mind, much to her sister's surprise. "No, I'm not."  
  
"You're not? Then why are you doing it?"  
  
"Because... After everything that Brady and I went through to be together... We made a promise to always stand by each other, to protect each other. He's going to do this even if I don't go, but I'd rather be there by his side through everything. If this was Jack, you'd do exactly what I'm doing. And, I know he would do it for you too."  
  
Jennifer nodded slowly and gave her sister a weak smile. "You're right. We would."  
  
Chloe's cell phone rang and she hurriedly dug into her purse to find it. "Hello..."  
  
"Diva, it's me..."  
  
"Brady? What's going on?"  
  
There was a hesitant pause and Chloe could almost hear him swallow the lump in his throat. "Venice... We're going to Venice."  
  
Chloe laid her hand on her chest, her eyes widening in surprise. Venice was his mother's favorite city, where they had spent their honeymoon and where they had first became friends with Greta. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but either way, Venice was a significant place for both of them. "Venice? When?"  
  
"First thing in the morning... I'm getting all the information that they'll allow me to have, so we won't be completely unprepared before we go. I called, and they're fueling up my father's jet, and we'll leave in the morning. That gives us enough time to pack, talk to all the people we need to talk to, say goodbye to Wesley and maybe get about 5 minutes of sleep."  
  
"Okay... Okay... I'm at Jenn's now, and our car is here. So, I'm gonna go over and see my mother. Let her know what's going on, get my lecture, and then I'll meet you back at the loft so we can pack. Sounds good?"  
  
"Perfect... I love you."  
  
Chloe smiled slightly, they were casually affectionate in normal circumstances, but under stress, it became a frantic desire to always remind each other of their feelings. "Love you too, Brady... See you soon."  
  
Chloe hung up the phone and slid it back into her purse. She stood from the chair and Jennifer stood along with her. "So, you're going to Venice?"  
  
"Looks like it... I'm sure we'll be back here before we leave. We'll want to say goodbye to Wesley, of course. I think I'm going to go give him a kiss right now though... I need to see my baby boy."  
  
Jennifer nodded in understanding and pointed towards the stairs. "He's asleep in Abby's room."  
  
"Thanks." Chloe went quietly up the stairs, trying not to wake up Abby or Wes as she crept into her young neice's bedroom.  
  
Both kids were sleeping peacefully, Abby in her bed, and Wesley in the playpen that Jennifer kept in the closet for Wesley's visits. Chloe kneeled on the floor to watch him as he breathed softly, looking like the perfect picture of peace and contentment. She reached her hand into the playpen to lightly stroke the soft blonde hair that covered his head and smiled.  
  
"Mommy and Daddy love you sweet-boy. I promise we'll come home soon..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Did the initials watermark on the card make any sense to you guys? (Besides the KJM thing, which really isn't supposed to make any sense at this point. But, it should later.) 


	7. chap 7

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
(The Next Morning - Early)  
  
Chloe walked around the loft's small kitchen, grabbing two mugs out of the cabinet so that she and Brady could have a quick cup of coffee before leaving. She poured the coffee into the cups and was stirring sugar into her own cup when Brady came back in the sliding metal door. He grinned at her and laid down the morning edition of the Salem Spectator.  
  
Chloe slid his cup of coffee across the counter and read the lines of text out loud. "Princess Greta Kidnapped; John Black Poisoned; Authorities say DiMera is Responsible..."  
  
Chloe's eyes scanned over Jack's article as she sipped her coffee. He had done as promised, writing the meat of the story without having to include some of the more discreet details. Chloe looked up from the paper and smiled slightly.  
  
"Nice article..." Chloe poured herself another cup of coffee and sighed softly. "It was so weird... Even sleeping here for a few hours with Wes gone. It was weird."  
  
Brady nodded in agreement and questioned her. "Did you get any sleep though?"  
  
"Ha... Nope. Did you?"  
  
"Not really. You didn't notice me tossing and turning all night?"  
  
Chloe laughed softly and nodded. "I did... I just thought you were having nightmares."  
  
Brady grinned slightly and shook his head. "Why bother with nightmares when reality is just as bad?"  
  
Chloe sighed, not knowing whether to laugh or cry at Brady's remark. She sipped her coffee in silence but never really took her eyes off her husband. It was going to be a difficult road ahead of them, especially since neither of them had much experience in these kinds of situations.  
  
She finished off her coffee and glanced at the watch on her wrist. "I guess... If we want to go see everybody before we leave, we better get going."  
  
Brady slid off the barstool and clapped his hands together with readiness. "Alright, I'll go get our suitcases from upstairs and we'll go..."  
  
Chloe nodded and washed out their coffee cups before turning to look at the stairs. She sighed softly and muttered under her breath. "Dear God, I hope we're doing the right thing..."  
  
~*~  
  
They had made the hospital their first spot, saying their goodbyes to John, Marlena, Belle and Craig there. John had given all of the fatherly advice he could think of, as did Craig, and Brady and Chloe promised to keep in contact with everyone as much as possible. They quickly left that part of the family and moved on to meet the rest of the family at the airport.  
  
Nancy was the first one they saw and she was still grumbling over Chloe's decision to follow her husband all the way around the world. Jennifer arrived moments later with Abby and Wesley in tow. Wesley ran immediately into his mother's arms and Chloe scooped him up to squeeze him tightly.  
  
Chloe gave him a kiss and smiled happily at him, if there was one thing that could always brighten her day, it was her little boy. She noticed Nancy looking at Brady with a scowl as she put her hand on her son-in-law's arm.  
  
"Brady... May I have a word with you?"  
  
Brady raised his eyebrows and grinned at her. "Sure, Nancy... Have more than one if you need to."  
  
Jennifer and Chloe looked on with glances of amusement as they suspected what was to come. Nancy put one hand on each of Brady's arms and gave him the steeliest gaze she could muster.  
  
"I do not approve of my daughter going on this chase with you. It's dangerous, it's risky and it's downright foolish. But, I do understand it. I also understand that I have never been able to keep my daughter from doing whatever she wants to, so I have no choice but to let her go."  
  
Brady nodded in agreement and kept his grin plastered on. "That's true... Chloe does what Chloe wants, and nobody can stop her."  
  
Nancy's eyes narrowed, and even at her short stature, she still frightened Brady just a little bit. She was his mother-in-law, after all. "What I'm trying to say, Brady, is that if *anything* happens to my daughter, I will tear you into a million pieces and nobody will ever be able to find you again. You got that?"  
  
Chloe was giggling softly and interjected. "Mom... Isn't that the speech you gave him on our wedding night?"  
  
"No, sweetie... That was the shotgun and shallow grave in the back yard speech."  
  
Brady stifled a laugh and gave Nancy a brief hug. "Yes, Nancy... I understand. And believe me, no harm will ever come to Chloe. Not if I can help it. She means more to me than my own life, and I will protect her no matter what."  
  
Nancy broke her steely gaze and smiled happily at him. "You're a good boy, Brady Black..."  
  
"Thank you..."  
  
Chloe came towards him, motioning for him to take Wesley from her arms. "Here, take your clone for a second so I can say goodbye to my mom."  
  
Brady did as instructed and as soon as Wesley was in his arms he began chattering away. "Da-da, da-da, da-da, da-da..."  
  
Chloe resisted the urge to groan in frustration, instead turning towards Nancy to give her a tight hug. "I love you, Mom... I do... I'll be home soon."  
  
Nancy was obviously fighting back tears as she held on to her daughter. "You better be. Don't you dare do anything to get yourself hurt, Chloe... Craig and I need you too much."  
  
"I won't. I promise... Don't start crying, please, because I don't want to cry too. This isn't goodbye or anything... I will be back as soon as I can."  
  
Nancy nodded and sniffled slightly. "Okay, then I'm just going to go now, because if I watch you get on the plane, I will start crying."  
  
Nancy gave her another hug and then gave a kiss to Wesley. She walked away after reminding Jennifer to call her if she needed someone to take care of Wesley. Chloe watched as her mother walked away sadly, and then turned to Jennifer and Abby. She crouched so she could look at Abby directly.  
  
"Abigail... While your Uncle Brady and me are gone, we're trusting you with a really important job. You have to promise to look out for Wes for us. Okay?"  
  
Abby nodded enthusiastically and gave her a bright smile. "Okay, Aunt Chloe... I'll take really good care of him."  
  
Chloe smiled back at her and gave her a tight hug. "I know you will, you're a great cousin. There's one other thing I have to ask you to do for me though, okay?"  
  
"What is it?"  
  
Chloe let go of her and winked slyly. "Please teach him how to say mama. You know, show him pictures of me, point at them and say, 'mama'. He'll catch on eventually. Okay?"  
  
Abby was giggling along with the laughter of Brady and Jennifer. "Alright, I will... I'll make sure he's saying mama by the time you get home from Italy."  
  
"You're a good kid, Abigail. Thank you..."  
  
Chloe stood back up and saw the amused glances she was receiving from both her sister and husband. She shrugged innocently and tried to defend herself. "Hey... A mother can dream, okay?"  
  
Jennifer wrapped her arms around Chloe tightly, practically squeezing the life out of her. "Chloe, please be careful... Both of you. I know how dangerous this is, and I admire you for doing it, but please come home in one piece."  
  
"Okay, but for me to stay in one piece, you might have to loosen your grip, Hercules."  
  
Jennifer realized she was squeezing too tightly and let go of her with a laugh. "Oh, I'm sorry... I just... We just got you into our family, and we don't want to lose you now."  
  
Chloe nodded in understanding and smiled widely. "And, you're not going to... Everybody's acting like we're marching down the green mile towards the electric chair. But, we're not... We're going to be fine."  
  
"That's what family is for, Chloe. To worry about each other, whether we need to or not."  
  
Chloe put her arm around Jennifer's shoulder and turned to watch Brady give a cheerful goodbye to his son. Brady and she had made a promise to each other, that they would not act sad around Wesley, no matter what happened. They knew he couldn't understand what was going on, but he still knew when his parents were upset, and they didn't want him to feel that with their goodbye.  
  
Brady kissed Wesley and held him tightly for just a moment before smiling at him. "I love you, Mini-Me. Don't give your Aunt Jenn and Uncle Jack too much trouble."  
  
Wesley just kept smiling as Brady passed him over to Chloe. She held on to him tightly and watched as Brady said goodbye to Abby, a little girl who completely adored her Uncle Brady. He hugged her tightly and gave her a kiss on the cheek, promising that they would return before her big dance recital in a couple of weeks.  
  
Chloe looked at the small boy in her arms and squeezed him tightly, planting kisses all over his angelic little face. Wesley just giggled in response as her kisses tickled him. She did as promised, holding back the tears that she wanted to shed as she said goodbye to her son.  
  
She knew if she held on to him any longer she would lose control, so she passed him back to Jennifer with a sigh, brushing her fingers through his hair as Jennifer grabbed on to him. "I love you, Wes..."  
  
She pointed towards the door that led to the airstrip for the private planes and smiled weakly at Jennifer. "We... We better go... I'll call you when we get there."  
  
Jennifer nodded and grabbed Abby's hand to lead her out of the airport. "We'll see you soon..."  
  
Chloe waved them off and then slowly followed Brady towards his father's private jet. She had to keep reminding herself that it wasn't supposed to feel like a goodbye.  
  
~*~  
  
Chloe laid the folder down in the seat next to her with a loud sigh. They had spent the last ninety minutes on the airplane going over every piece of information they had about Stefano and all of his properties and businesses in Italy.  
  
"So, how did they know Stefano was going to Venice? Was it their secret agent or something?"  
  
Brady shook his head and grinned at her. "No, it was Stefano's idiot daughter, Lexie. She called her mother and told her everything she knows about this. Thankfully, Celeste had no problem fessing up to Abe that Lexie was meeting her father in Venice."  
  
Chloe rolled her eyes and chuckled softly. "Dumb, dumb, dumb. Some people will never learn. Now... Answer me this. How did you get all of this? I can't believe that the police and the ISA would just hand this stuff over to you."  
  
"Well, it took a lot of convincing and my father's good name. He's always involving himself in these kinds of things, and he's pretty trusted among those circles. Plus, he has a few connections that even Bo Brady doesn't know about..."  
  
Chloe frowned slightly and stared at her husband's profile as his eyes scanned the pages in front of him. "You are... every bit your father's son..."  
  
"You say that like it's a bad thing..." There was a silent pause and Brady put down the file to look at her curiously. "Wait a minute... Is that what you think? It's bad to be like my father?"  
  
"No, Brady, that's not what I'm saying... I love your dad, I think he's an amazing person, but..."  
  
"But what...?"  
  
Chloe rubbed her hands together nervously and shrugged. "I just... Your dad is always getting himself into these things, and I know that it's not his fault all the time. What Stefano has done to him in the past. But, he's always the hero, the rescuer... I admire that, but it's dangerous. And, Brady -- I don't want to lose you because you're off rescuing everyone all the time."  
  
Brady wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, giving her a kiss on the temple. "It's not like I enjoy putting myself in danger. But, sometimes you have no choice... Like this time."  
  
"I know, it's just... What if this never stops? What if twenty years from now Wes is off working to save one of us? What if he's just like you and your dad? It's like a never-ending cycle... And, I kind of want to keep the people I love safe and together. It took me a long time to get a family, and I don't want to let that go."  
  
"Chloe... I am like my father. I know that. But, I'm also like my mother and have a firm grasp on reality and logic. And, I would never put you or my family or my self in danger if I didn't have to. Believe me, I wish that you and I didn't have to do this. But, I think it's the only way to save my dad and Greta..."  
  
Chloe nodded slightly and turned to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I know, Brady... I'm just... paranoid. My two greatest fears are losing Wes and losing you. I couldn't stand it if that happened..."  
  
Brady found her hand with his own and held on to it reassuringly. "I'm not going to let that happen. I'm not..."  
  
Chloe smiled weakly and gave him another kiss, this time on the lips. "I know you won't... You never let me down, Brady. You always save the day..."  
  
She wanted more than anything to believe that would always be the truth, that she and Brady would always be there to protect each other. But a dark cloud seemed to loom over them and everyone they cared about. One that she was afraid would haunt them their entire lives, always putting them in situations like this one.  
  
Brady smiled slightly as he looked in her eyes. "Do you remember the first time that you and I were ever on an airplane together?"  
  
Chloe's eyes widened and she nodded. "Remember? How could I ever forget it? I thought it was going to be the LAST time we were ever on a plane together... But, as always, you were there to tell me everything was going to be okay."  
  
"And everything was okay. We didn't die in a plane crash, we saved Belle, Shawn and Phillip from that cavern, everything worked out for the best."  
  
"It did... But, it sure did look bleak for awhile."  
  
"You know, I can't help but wonder one thing about that trip though..."  
  
Chloe looked at him in surprise, her eyebrows pursing together in confusion. ""What is that?"  
  
He grinned slyly at her and winked before replying. "I can't help but think that maybe we should have left Phillip down in that hole."  
  
Chloe rolled her eyes and began giggling hysterically. "Oh, God, Brady... Don't say that..."  
  
Brady laughed along with her and shrugged innocently. "I'm just saying... If only we had known then what we know now..."  
  
She continued laughing and playfully smacked him on the arm. "Stop... That's not supposed to be funny."  
  
"But, it made you laugh, didn't it?"  
  
"Yes, it did..."  
  
Brady brushed a stray piece of hair away from her face and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Do you feel better now?"  
  
Chloe nodded and smiled widely at him. "Yes, I do... Thanks for the laugh... and the reassurance."  
  
"It was my pleasure."  
  
Both of them went back to sifting through the files on Stefano DiMera, remaining silent for quite a while. Chloe did feel better, trusting in herself and in Brady to always come through whatever obstacle came their way. But, it didn't stop that strange sense of foreboding to tickle at her from the back of her brain. The pessimist that lived inside her knew that their luck would have to run out eventually.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
No big secrets revealed here. I wasn't sure if I needed this chapter in the story, but I wanted to write it anyway. :)  
  
Thanks to everyone for all your encouraging words and for reading!! You guys rock! 


	8. chap 8

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chloe walked out on to the small balcony and looked out into the streets of Venice. She laid her hands on the black iron railing and sighed loudly. Brady's footsteps sounded on the floor behind her and he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, pulling her close to him. His lips grazed her neck and then moved up to give her a kiss on the cheek. She melted into his arms, trying to enjoy just one moment of peace together while they still could.  
  
"I love this city... I just... I wish we were here on vacation, and not for the reasons we're really here."  
  
Brady nodded in agreement and gave her another kiss, this one on the temple. "I know. I know... But, we will be back here again in the future, and for happier reasons, I'm sure. Don't you worry about it..."  
  
Chloe turned around in his arms and gave him a brief kiss on the lips. She ran her fingers through his blonde hair and smiled at him. "Oh Brady... I know that there are no guarantees in life, but..."  
  
"You wish there were. I know... But the good news is that you and I are going to be far too busy to actually have time to worry. We've got to figure out what we're doing..."  
  
"You mean you don't have a plan yet, Action-Man?"  
  
Brady chuckled and rolled his eyes as he let go of her. He took her by the hand and led her back into their room. "I have an outline of a plan. There are just a few things you and I need to go over."  
  
They paused in front of the bed and Brady moved to unzip his black suitcase that was lying on the edge of the bed. Chloe's forehead wrinkled up in confusion as she watched him. "Thing we need to go over? What kind of things?"  
  
Brady threw back the top of the suitcase and pulled out a black case that was resting among his clothes. He opened it up and pulled out two guns, one smaller than the other. Chloe took a step backwards as her blue eyes widened in surprise.  
  
"Brady... I don't remember packing those."  
  
"Because you didn't. I did. They were presents from my dad... Something to take on our trip." He handed the smaller one to Chloe and she reluctantly took it from his hand. "This one is for you."  
  
She held it delicately, her heart pounding faster at the feel of the cold steel resting in the palm of her hand. It was not a feeling that she enjoyed, as it only served to increase the fear she already felt. She shook her head in denial, but was unable to tear her eyes away from the gun as she spoke to Brady.  
  
"Brady... I -- I can't take a gun. I don't know how to shoot it. I don't know if I *could*."  
  
Brady laid the other gun down and looked at her with complete seriousness. "You might not have a choice, Chloe. We can't be putting ourselves in this situation, dealing with DiMeras, and not have something to protect ourselves."  
  
Chloe frowned and kept shaking her head. She looked up at Brady, and he could see the stress in her facial expression. "I know, Brady... I know that... But, I don't know how to use a gun. I've never done it before and I'm not really fond of doing it now. I mean, do YOU even know how to shoot a gun?"  
  
"Yes, I do. My dad taught me, took me out to the shooting range when I was in high school... He didn't say it, but he must have known there would come a day when I would need to protect my family and myself. And, I can teach you too. I hope that you DON'T have to use it, but you might... If it's a choice between life or death, you'll have to make that choice."  
  
Chloe put the gun down on the bed, just wanting it out of her hand for the time being. "It's so much responsibility... taking a human life..."  
  
Brady nodded in understanding and walked towards her to gently lay his hands on her arms. "It is, but it might not be something you ever have to do. Hopefully, it won't be. But, it helps to have it... just in case you need to look threatening."  
  
He pulled her into a comforting embrace and Chloe sighed softly as she rested her head on his shoulder. She knew he was right, but guns were something she had never dealt with before. Seeing that weapon in her hand only made the seriousness of this situation more real and much more dangerous.  
  
They were startled out of their embrace by a loud knocking at the door, causing both of them to jump in surprise. Both of them looked at the door and then looked back towards each other.  
  
"You expecting a visitor, Diva?"  
  
Chloe shrugged slightly as she headed towards the door. "It's probably someone from the front desk or something..."  
  
She turned the knob and found herself faced with an empty hallway. Her head turned to look down each side of the hallway, seeing no one in her line of sight. Something on the floor caught her eye and she kneeled down to pick up the off-white envelope with her name written on the front.  
  
Chloe stood back up and shut the door behind her as she walked back in to the room. Brady was staring at her curiously and pointed at the envelope in her hand. "What is that?"  
  
Chloe shrugged in confusion and ran her fingers over just her first name that was handwritten on the front. "It's for me... Whatever it is..."  
  
She peeled the flap open and slipped out the small card that was inside. She opened the card and as soon as she read the words, her heart froze in her chest. One hand flew to her mouth in shock, as there was something eerily affecting about the words on the paper in front of her.  
  
"What does it say?"  
  
"It says... It says, 'I knew you would come.'"  
  
Chloe didn't wait another second for Brady to say something. She began tearing up the card and the envelope into tiny pieces as she ran towards the bathroom. All of the pieces fell out of her hands into the toilet and her eyes followed them as she flushed them down the drain.   
  
As soon as every piece was gone she marched back into the bedroom, her expression quickly turned from fearful to one of steely resolve. She picked the gun back up from the bed and wrapped her fingers around it tightly. Her blue eyes met Brady's, as he was still standing in the place where she had left him, glued to one spot by his confusion.  
  
"You want to teach me how to use this now?"  
  
Brady didn't question her sudden change of mood, he just nodded in agreement. The note had reminded her of the danger they were putting themselves in, forcing her to accept that using a gun might be her in the end.  
  
~*~  
  
(Later)  
  
Chloe followed behind her husband as they walked down the hallway of the upscale apartment building. Greta kept an apartment in Venice for her frequent visits to the city, and Brady had decided to check it out for any clues they might need. Chloe wasn't sure why it was necessary since Greta had not been here in a few months, but followed along anyway.  
  
"So, Brady... How do you plan on getting in there? Don't tell me you have a secret past with picking locks or something..."  
  
Brady chuckled and shook his head. "No, I was just going to..."  
  
His words faltered as they reached the door to Greta's apartment. He motioned for Chloe to be quiet and then put his hand on the white wood of the door. It was unlocked and cracked open slightly, but the room behind it still looked dark.  
  
He turned to Chloe and whispered softly. "Somebody is here."  
  
Chloe's eyes widened and a chill ran up her spine. This visit to Greta's apartment was supposed to be simple and without complications, but now it didn't seem that it was going to turn out that way. Brady had his gun on him and pulled it out to point it in front of him.   
  
Chloe stood behind him as he led the way in to the apartment. There was no sign of anyone in the living room, and Brady led Chloe into the kitchen and dining room area very carefully. Both rooms were empty and Brady looked at his wife with a slight shrug.  
  
"Maybe whoever was here is gone..."  
  
"That doesn't mean we should stop being careful."  
  
Brady nodded in agreement as he began turning lights on and opening window shades to let the sunlight in. "No, we shouldn't... I'm going to check the bedrooms if you want to get a look at what's in her desk."  
  
Chloe nodded and went back in to the living room to sit at the antique desk against the wall. Brady moved sneakily down the hallway as Chloe began sifting through the drawers looking for something that linked back to Stefano. She could hear his shoes moving across the wood floors as she slowly began looking through a stack of letters.  
  
Brady stepped into Greta's darkened bedroom carefully. As he was about to reach for the light switch, he saw a shadow dart from one corner. He pointed his gun in the darkness but couldn't see what he was aiming at. He felt the figure slam into him and both bodies tumbled to the floor as the gun went off in Brady's hand.  
  
Chloe heard the gunshot reverberate through the house and she dropped the stack of papers in her hand. She flew out of the chair and ran down the hallway as quickly as her legs could carry her. When she reached Greta's bedroom she saw Brady struggling on the floor with a man of a similar build and height to his own.  
  
His gun was out of his hand having slid out of his hand and across the floor. Brady got the upper hand and turned the other man on to his back, pinning him to the floor. The other man had a thick head of dark hair and almost shockingly blue eyes, which were glaring angrily at Brady.  
  
Chloe was the first to speak, shouting more out of fear than anything else. "What the hell is going on?"  
  
Brady stared at the other man and snarled at him through clenched teeth. He pushed him further into the floor as he questioned him. "Who are you and why are you here?"  
  
The dark-haired man's voice matched the intensity of Brady's as he spat back at him. "I should ask you the same thing."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sorry so short, and so late... I should have more soon. :) Thanks for reading. :) 


	9. chap 9

~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Brady stared at him in disbelief. "Excuse me? You're here breaking into the home of a close friend of mine, and you want an explanation from *me*."  
  
The man beneath him spoke with a slight Southern accent, not too thick, but just enough to be noticeable. "You did try to shoot me. I think I deserve an explanation."  
  
"I didn't mean to fire the gun. If you hadn't tackled me it wouldn't have gone off..."  
  
Chloe rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, taking an opportunity to step in. "Whoa... Both of you need to shut up and explain this to me right now. No arguing..."  
  
She pointed at the dark-haired man, who she would have guessed to be in his late 20's and narrowed her eyes in an attempt to intimidate him. "You. What's your name? Where did you come from? And why are you here?"  
  
"How do I know I can trust you?"  
  
"You don't. But, at this point, YOU are the one that's breaking and entering. And, *we* are the ones who can call the police. This apartment belongs to a friend of ours and we don't think she'd mind if we were here... You, on the other hand, might be a problem. And that's why I'm doing all the asking and you're going to do the answering."  
  
He groaned in frustration and begrudgingly began to answer her earlier questions. "The name is Noah. Noah Maguire. I'm from Louisiana and I'm here in Venice looking for my brother. Can you please tell he-man over here to let me go now? I'm not here to hurt anyone, especially not friends of the Princess... If that is what you are..."  
  
Chloe took a moment to assess how truthful and sincere he sounded. His blue eyes were pleading with her, but she remained suspicious, as did Brady. "Let him go... We need to have a talk with him, and I think it'd be for the best if we did it in a less belligerent way."  
  
Brady let go of him and stood up, as did Noah. Noah took a seat on the edge of the bed as Brady moved across the floor to pick up his gun. He didn't put it away, keeping it at the ready in case this man wasn't exactly what he seemed.  
  
Brady eyed him suspiciously and stood next to Chloe so they could both face him. "Alright, Mr. Maguire -- What does the Princess have to do with finding your brother?"  
  
"My brother is an agent in the ISA..."  
  
"Then why aren't you talking to them instead of breaking into people's apartments?"  
  
Chloe nudged Brady with her elbow and gave him a stern look. "Let him finish..."  
  
Noah smiled at Chloe in appreciation and continued. "He's also missing, or at least *I* think he's missing. His superiors at the ISA say that he's on special undercover assignment, that he's not able to contact family. But, if that's true, then he was breaking the rules up until about a month ago. I talked to him all the time, e-mails and phone calls... And, then it just stopped all of a sudden... And nobody will tell me where he is. I'm beginning to think that even the ISA doesn't know."  
  
Chloe frowned at him and leaned against the dresser behind her. "Okay... And not to sound repetitive -- But, why are you HERE in Greta's apartment?"  
  
"Because, I followed my brother's trail and found the last place he stayed at. A hotel room in Salem, Illinois."  
  
Chloe and Brady shared a glance of surprise and looked at each other briefly. Brady turned back to Noah and motioned for him to continue. "Go on..."  
  
"I went to Salem, the rent on the room was paid up for the next four months... But, the guy at the front desk said he hadn't seen my brother since about the last time I heard from him. I got in the room, I found files and his computer, all kinds of things regarding his work with the ISA. He was undercover working in Stefano DiMera's organization..."  
  
Brady made a sound of understanding, almost a snicker and began nodding. He looked at Chloe and gave her a reminder. "The mole... The one they were going to rely on to find the antidote..."  
  
Noah looked at them in confusion but continued his story. "The strangest part is, I took what I could with me and came back the next day for the rest of his stuff. But, it was all gone. The ISA claims that he's still been communicating with them and not to worry. But, I know my brother... He wouldn't go a month without calling me or my mother."  
  
"And it led you here... to Venice... to the Princess..."  
  
"Apparently part of his duties as a DiMera employee was surveillance. He was responsible for watching Princess Von Amberg for at least part of the time that he was on this assignment. I ended up following Lexie DiMera here when she flew here from Salem a few days ago, hoping she would lead me to her father. And, then today, I heard that the Princess was kidnapped and that it was connected to the DiMeras, so I came here... But, I haven't found anything. Not yet."  
  
Chloe sighed softly and spoke to him. "And, I don't think you're going to. Greta hasn't been here in a few months..."  
  
Noah raised his eyebrows doubtfully as he replied. "Then why are you two here?"  
  
"Because, we're friends of the Princess and we're trying to bring her home to Salem. That's all you need to know right now."  
  
"Wait a minute... I spill my guts for you and that's all you give me. Nice fair trade there ma'am."  
  
Chloe looked at Brady and shrugged indecisively. His words seemed sincere, but neither of them knew how much they could tell him without putting themselves in more danger. Brady frowned at her and then turned to Noah to give him some solid advice.  
  
"Listen, Mr. Maguire, and listen good. You're playing with fire when you play with the DiMera family. Whatever your brother is involved in is a very dangerous situation. You don't know what you're getting yourself in to, so I suggest that you fly yourself back to Louisiana and wait for your brother to call you."  
  
Noah stood up from the bed, glaring angrily at Brady as he feverishly replied. "No way. And there is no way I'm going to let YOU tell me what to do. This is my brother, and if I gave up on him when I could be out there helping him, I'd never forgive myself. I promised our mother that I would find him and that's what I'm here to do. I'm not going home until I know where he is."  
  
Brady rolled his eyes and glowered with anger. This was not what they needed right now. A fly in the ointment coming along to screw everything up. "Go home. You have NO experience with someone like DiMera, and you're only going to get yourself killed. How will your mom feel when she has TWO sons that are missing?"  
  
"I'm not going anywhere. And tell me, what kind of experience do *you* have?"  
  
Brady was at a loss for words and Chloe smiled slightly at him. "He's got a point, Brady. We're not exactly experienced with this kind of stuff either."  
  
Brady turned to her and stared in surprise. "Chloe... You're supposed to be backing me up here."  
  
"I -- I would, but he's right. We're just as inexperienced as he is, but we're here anyway... And we're doing this because of people we care about -- Greta and your father... The same reason that he's here -- to find his brother."  
  
Noah's eyes were wide with surprise as he interrupted them. "Excuse me. You just called him Brady, and then he called you Chloe..."  
  
Brady raised his eyebrows and looked at him suspiciously. "Yes, we did. What's your point, Maguire?"  
  
"You're Brady Black, and his wife Chloe. You're John Black's son. I should have recognized you from your pictures..."  
  
"From our pictures? What pictures?"  
  
Noah sighed softly and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Your pictures were amongst the things I recovered from my brother's hotel room. He wasn't only keeping an eye on the Princess, he was watching you two as well, for a few months."  
  
Chloe looked at Brady and muttered quietly. "The game has many players. Right?"  
  
Brady nodded in understanding and turned back to Noah. "There's no way I can convince you to go home where it's safe, is there?"  
  
Noah shook his head vehemently. "I read in the newspaper about your father, he's sick from what I hear, and it's because of Stefano DiMera... So the day you convince me to give up on my brother is the day that you give up on saving your father. That's why I propose that we work together..."  
  
"Work together? You have GOT to be kidding me..."  
  
Chloe laid her hand on Brady's arm and gave him a scolding glance. "Just hear him out, Brady..."  
  
Noah nodded in appreciation and continued his proposal. "I'm a police officer, therefore I have some training when it comes to investigation and self-defense. I can take care of myself without a problem, and maybe I can help you out too. We have a common goal here, Mr. Black. I'm looking for my brother, you're looking for the Princess and a way to help your father. It might HELP if we work together instead of stepping on each other's toes."  
  
"I think he's right, Brady. Maybe we *should* work together."  
  
Brady looked at his wife with skepticism. "We don't know that we can trust this guy at all... Just because he has some story about his missing brother means we should trust him? How do we know he's telling the truth?"  
  
Chloe rolled her eyes and groaned in frustration. Her husband could be so pigheaded sometimes, not seeing something that could be beneficial to them when it was right in front of their eyes. "Do you want to call his mommy? Run a background check? Call the ISA and ask about his brother? I don't think he's playing us, Brady... I think he's just as desperate as we are right now. We need each other, and I think it would be mutually beneficial to work together. Besides, he has no reason to trust us either, but he is putting himself on the line anyway."  
  
Brady took a moment to go over the situation in his head. He looked at Noah, and had to begrudgingly admit to himself that the man seemed sincere. But, still, Brady hated to give in and trust someone so easily. He sighed loudly and decided that maybe Chloe did know best this time.  
  
"Fine, Maguire... We work together. But, one false move, one shifty-eyed glance from you and that's it. We're through."  
  
Noah nodded in understanding and reached out to shake Brady's hand firmly. "Thank you... And please, call me Noah, Mr. Black."  
  
Brady shook his hand and nodded. "And call me Brady, please... Anything but Mr. Black."  
  
The men let go of each other's hands and Chloe looked at them both with a satisfied smile. "Good, now that we've got that settled... What next? What exactly were you hoping to find here, Noah?"  
  
"That's a good question. I'm not sure... Besides knowing that Stefano DiMera is here in Venice, I'm kind of at a dead end. What about you?"  
  
"Just looking around... I found some interesting things in Greta's house back in Salem. I thought I might find the same here."  
  
Brady looked around at his wife and their new partner. "Well, let's get back to searching then... Chloe, you take the bedroom. Noah and I will get the other rooms."  
  
Chloe nodded and waited until both men were out of the room before she began searching through the drawers and closets. She didn't know what to think of their new third wheel, but something about him made her want to trust him. He seemed completely sincere, and was in a situation quite similar to theirs. And, at this point, they needed all the help they could get.  
  
She was coming up with nothing, finding a mostly empty closet and drawers to match. Chloe kneeled on the floor and slid out the empty bottom drawer of Greta's large dresser. It looked shallow, too shallow for a drawer of that size, and as her eyes ran over it, she decided there was definitely something different about it. She knocked on the bottom and heard something rattling underneath, hollow space and something else.  
  
Chloe grabbed the drawer and pulled it out all the way to lay it on the bed. She ran her fingers around the edge of the bottom until she found a small tab that stuck out of one side. Her fingers tugged at it until she pulled the false bottom out with a loud grunt. She tossed the panel aside and looked at the contents of the drawer. Several leather-bound books were tied together with a red ribbon. She slipped one book out of the stack and opened it up to look at it.  
  
"Wow..."  
  
Chloe sighed softly and grabbed the entire stack, carrying them into the other room where the two men were. She laid them down on the couch and smiled at them. "Look, what I found..."  
  
Brady turned from his position at Greta's desk and looked at her curiously. "What is it?"  
  
"Diaries... Princess Gina's diaries. I don't know if they'll be any help, but there might be things in there about Stefano. Things we can use."  
  
Noah was standing in the archway between the living room and kitchen looking at her with a smile. "Where did you find those?"  
  
"In a drawer. A drawer that had a false bottom. What about you two? Have you found anything?"  
  
"Utensils, pots, pans, dishes... The kitchen isn't exactly a haven for all of somebody's deep dark secrets. What about you, Brady?"  
  
Brady stood from the desk and laid a small pile of envelopes on the couch next to Gina's diaries. "It looks like Greta was getting these little notes before she moved back to Salem. I think it's safe to assume there's a stack of these at her home in Paris too. You didn't know about these too, did you Chloe?"  
  
Chloe crossed her arms over her chest and replied defensively. "Brady, don't you dare accuse me of knowing about this. I didn't know... As far as I knew this just started when she came back to Salem. And, that's what I told you before."  
  
Noah interjected from the doorway, hoping to stop a married couple from arguing. "What are these notes? If you don't mind me asking..."  
  
Chloe looked at Noah and then back to Brady with a pause of hesitation between them. "I think we should tell him what the notes are about, Brady. Don't you?"  
  
Brady sighed and nodded, although it was against his better judgement. Noah was willing to share his information with them, they might as well give back in return. "Alright, let's fill him in... On the way to our hotel... I need to call Salem, talk to my dad and Bo."  
  
Chloe nodded slightly and smiled at him in appreciation. She gathered up the diaries and the notes and the three of the headed out of Greta's apartment, back towards their current base of operations.  
  
~*~  
  
Brady unlocked the door to their hotel suite and led Chloe and Noah into the room. He motioned towards the bedroom as he spoke to both of them.  
  
"I'm going to go make some phone calls in the other room... I'll be just a minute."  
  
Chloe nodded and watched as Brady went through the double doors to the bedroom. She turned to Noah with a smile and motioned towards the hotel refrigeration. "Can I offer you something from the mini-bar? Nine dollar peanuts? A seven dollar Pepsi? Splurge if you want, we can afford it."  
  
Noah chuckled softly and took a seat on the couch. "Just water is fine..."  
  
Chloe grabbed a couple of bottles of water out of the small fridge and handed one to Noah. She sat in the chair across from him and opened her own bottle to sip the cool water. "So... Noah... Tell me about your brother. He must be pretty special if you're doing all this for him."  
  
"He is... He's momma's miracle child, really. My parents tried for a long time to have a baby, but never could. So, they adopted me... and then about three months after I came to live with them, they got pregnant with Jake."  
  
Chloe smiled at him and asked. "So, I guess you two are pretty close?"  
  
Noah nodded, a hint of concern for his brother flashing over his eyes. "We always have been. We're so close in age that we've always been more than brother, more like best friends. He and I went to the police academy together, but Jake wanted something bigger. He went to the FBI and then the ISA."  
  
"And you? You were just content to be a regular ol' cop?"  
  
"Suits me just fine. I kind of like the feel of a small or mid-sized town... But, Jake... Jake wanted to save the world."  
  
Chloe sighed softly and gave him a reassuring smile. "Listen, Brady may come off kind of harsh at times, but he does understand what you're going through. He's here to protect his family, and so am I. His father's life is at stake, and so is the life of a friend who is as close to us as our family is. We're all in the same boat here..."  
  
Chloe grabbed her purse off the floor next to her and dug inside for her wallet. She opened it up and handed it over to Noah, the first picture inside being one of Brady holding Wesley, both of them smiling brightly. "That's our son, Wes."  
  
"He's beautiful..."  
  
"I know. He's the light of my life, and so is my husband. Those other people in the wallet... My sister, my brothers, my niece, nephew, my parents, my friends... Those are the reasons why I'm here."  
  
Noah looked at all of the pictures and then handed her wallet back to her with a smile. "You're very lucky... to have all of those people... But, why are you showing them to me?"  
  
Chloe slid her wallet back into her purse and sighed softly. "Because, I trust you. I don't know why, I can't explain it... But, there's something about you that makes me trust you. Even if Brady doesn't act like it, he trusts you too... Mostly because he trusts *me* to make a good judgement of character. And right now, trust is the most important thing to get us through all of this."  
  
"Thank you, Chloe. I -- I feel the same way. Here, while we're playing show and tell..."   
  
Noah dug in his pocket and pulled out his black leather wallet. He opened it up and passed it over to Chloe, pointing at one of the pictures. "That's me, Jake and our momma last year... Our dad passed away a few years back."  
  
"I'm sorry..."  
  
"It's alright... He went peacefully."  
  
Chloe took the wallet from his hand to study the picture, and as soon as her eyes fixated on it, her heart froze in her chest. She felt a cold chill run up her spine and her hands began trembling as she gripped on to the black leather in her hand.  
  
Her mouth opened but no sound came out. She heard Brady step into the area between the living room and bedroom and speak to Noah.  
  
"Hey Maguire... Your brother's name is Jake, right?"  
  
Chloe was still staring at the picture when she heard Noah's reply filter through the haze in her brain. "Yeah, but that's just a nickname... His full name is Kenneth Jacob Maguire."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
What's in the picture? WHAT'S IN THE PICTURE???  
  
See, I just took the words right out of your mouth. Ain't I sweet? ;)  
  
I always get scared about writing Original Characters in fanfics. It's like, I know you guys like Brady and Chloe, otherwise you wouldn't be here... But, I don't know if people are going to like Noah. Oh well, he's mine, I made him... Hate him or love him if you will.  
  
On another note... You ever notice how most soap operas have their token "Hot Guy with an Accent"? The strange thing is they are almost always guys with *Australian* accents. (Or British sometimes.) That's why Noah is a Southerner, because I wanted to break the accent cliche! Also, a little Southern accent can be VERY sexy. 


	10. chap 10

~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter Ten  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Brady blinked his eyes rapidly and stared at Noah in shock. "Excuse me? What did you just say?"  
  
Noah looked back at him in confusion and repeated himself. "I said, Jake is a nickname... His name is Kenneth Jacob Maguire..."  
  
"Oh my God... K-J-M. Your brother is K-J-M." Brady looked at Chloe to get her reaction but she was still staring at the picture in Noah's wallet. "Chloe... Did you hear that?"  
  
"I -- I did. K-J-M."  
  
"Chloe, you look like you've seen a ghost..."  
  
Chloe finally looked up from the picture and stared into Brady's eyes. "I think I did... But, maybe I'm just crazy. I don't know..."  
  
Brady could always sense when something was wrong with her so he grabbed the phone and promised Bo he would call him back in a bit. He moved around the couch to stand beside her and gently lay his hand on her shoulder. "What is it? What's wrong?"  
  
She closed Noah's wallet and looked up at Brady. Her face was pale and she looked like she was about to be sick to her stomach, the pain of what was haunting her was written all over her face.  
  
"Chloe... Answer me... Something is wrong. I can tell."  
  
She nodded slightly and rubbed her thumb over the black leather of the wallet. "I'm going to hand you Noah's wallet, and when you open it, look at the first picture and tell me what you see. There's a man in it who -- just, please tell me what you see, Brady..."  
  
She was nearly in tears as she spoke, so Brady kneeled down on the floor beside her. He took the wallet from her hand and looked at her with concern. "What is it?"  
  
Chloe gripped his other hand tightly and pushed him to do what she was asking. "Please, Brady... Just open it. Tell me I'm not crazy. Tell me that I'm not seeing things."  
  
Brady nodded and then did as she said, opening up the wallet to look at Noah's family photo. His expression seemed to harden, realizing exactly what Chloe had seen in the photo. "I see it... It does look a little like him."  
  
Chloe exhaled loudly and nodded. "It looks more than just a little like him, Brady. I mean, I'm not saying it could be his identical twin or anything, but it's just kind of striking... Like, if you saw him in a crowd, you might think that it was him..."  
  
"But, it's not him. It's just a coincidence... This is your brother, right, Noah?"  
  
Noah nodded but said nothing. He was confused enough as it is, and figured it was best to stay quiet. Brady turned back to Chloe and gave her a kiss on the temple as he ran his hand over her arm to comfort her. "See, Chloe... It's just a coincidence. Noah's brother just happens to look a little bit like him."  
  
Chloe glared at him doubtfully, her face still showing every single emotion she was feeling. She raised her voice, not believing him for a second. "COINCIDENCE? A coincidence? I don't think so, Brady... Noah's brother is *missing* after working undercover for Stefano. His name matches the initials on that card. And, to top it all off, he just so happens to look a little bit like Phillip Kiriakis. So, there was no way in hell, you will *ever* make me believe this is a coincidence."  
  
Brady handed Noah's wallet back to him and then pulled Chloe into his arms. "Chloe, you need to calm down, baby... It means nothing, okay?"  
  
Chloe took a few relaxing deep breaths but was still shaking her head in denial. "I don't know, Brady... It just feels like it has to mean something..."  
  
"I know you feel that way, and we will figure it out... I have to go call Bo back... Are you going to be okay?"  
  
Chloe nodded and slid out of his arms. "Yeah, go make your phone call."  
  
Brady hesitated and looked at her for a moment. He knew she wasn't okay and he also knew that no words or touches would make her okay. He stood up and went into the bedroom to call Bo and give him the new information he had, leaving Chloe and Noah alone again.  
  
Noah put his wallet back in to his pocket, not knowing whether he should say something or not. Chloe looked shaken to the core, but Noah was confused as to why. "Chloe... Who is Phillip Kiriakis? I mean, the name sounds kinda familiar, but I don't know from where from..."  
  
Chloe smoothed her hair with her fingers and sighed softly. "Do you watch the news a lot? Or Dateline, Primetime, 20/20?"  
  
"Sometimes... Why?"  
  
"Then that's where you've heard the name, probably. It was a pretty big story a while back."  
  
Noah nodded slightly as he took in Chloe's distraught expression. "He hurt you, didn't he? Caused you a lot of pain, right?"  
  
Chloe chuckled sarcastically and nodded. "You could say that... He tried to kill Brady, put him in a coma for twelve days. The longest twelve days I've ever had... He was Brady's uncle, and my ex-boyfriend and all he wanted was to take Brady away from me. And, he almost did."  
  
"But, he... he went to prison, right?"  
  
"Yeah, he did. But, he hung himself a little over a month ago. He's dead."  
  
Noah raised his eyebrows and looked at her curiously. "And what does this have to do with Jake? Jake looks like Phillip? Is that what you were showing your husband?"  
  
Chloe shrugged in confusion. "It's just a slight resemblance... I'm sure it means nothing."  
  
Chloe stood from her chair and turned her gaze away from Noah. She was lying to him and didn't want him to see it written all over her face. What she was really thinking was too horrifying to say out loud. However, it had been in the back of her mind since she had received the news of Phillip's death that afternoon in Salem Place.  
  
She moved across the living room, past Brady who was still on the phone in the bedroom and made her way into the bathroom. Chloe closed the door shut behind her and leaned on the sink as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She did look like she had seen a ghost, her skin had lost a great deal of color, and she looked weakened by the fear that was making her blood run cold.  
  
Chloe turned the faucet on and splashed some of the cold water on to her face before turning it off. She pulled her hair up into a loose upswept style, just to keep it from falling in her face.  
  
"Come on, Chloe... You have to pull yourself together..."  
  
She looked back at herself in the mirror and shook her head. "Yeah right... Not going to happen."  
  
Chloe went back out into the bedroom just as Brady was hanging up the phone. "So, how's your dad?"  
  
"He's comfortable, but the symptoms are really starting to show... I -- I don't know how much time we have to do this. A week, maybe two at the most."  
  
Chloe frowned and walked towards him, putting her hand on his shoulder and leaning over to kiss him briefly. She had to forget about Phillip, and concentrate on keeping her husband from falling apart. Brady was so close to his father, and losing him now would absolutely devastate him.  
  
"It's going to be okay, Brady... We will find that antidote, no matter what it takes."  
  
Brady stood from the bed and nodded slightly, but she could still sense the worry on his face. "I know we will..."  
  
"So, did Bo have anything interesting to say?"  
  
"Yes, he did... Come on. Let's go talk to our new musketeer..."  
  
Both of them walked back in to the living room and sat down. Noah still looked confused, wondering why the picture of his brother had such a deep effect on Chloe. "So... What's going on, you two?"  
  
Brady ran his fingers through his hair with a loud sigh and looked back and forth between the two. "I talked to Bo... He says that your brother has been sending messages to the ISA this entire time. Maybe he's just been unable to contact you..."  
  
Chloe crossed her arms and frowned. "Or maybe Stefano's the one sending the messages..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I don't mean to be pessimistic. I do hope that Jake is okay... But what if... And this is a BIG what if... What if Stefano found out he was working for the ISA? Maybe Stefano is keeping up appearances, making the ISA *think* that Jake is alright... giving them false information and false leads to keep them off his trail. I mean, we didn't find out about Venice because of the ISA or a lead from Jake. We found out because of Celeste and Lexie. If Stefano found out the truth about Jake, he could be locked up, or... or..."  
  
Noah sighed softly and finished Chloe's thought for her. "Or he could be dead."  
  
Chloe frowned in sympathy and shrugged. "I'm sorry, Noah... I didn't want to say it and I pray that I'm wrong. I hope that I am, that Jake is just fine... But, it's..."  
  
"It's alright, Chloe. You make an excellent point, and it's not like I haven't thought about that myself. That's the risk you take when you do a job like his, or even one like mine. Sometimes you go to work and you never come back... So, I'm prepared for the worst, but I'm hoping for the best."  
  
Brady was nodding in agreement and interjected. "We all are..."  
  
Chloe looked at her husband curiously and questioned him. "So, what about the KJM thing? I mean, that's just too amazing to be coincidental... Right?"  
  
"You're right. It definitely means something... I told Bo and my dad about it, they're kind of at a loss too... We don't know when Greta got that note, so we don't know exactly how this involves Jake."  
  
Noah's eyebrows were furrowed together and he looked at them curiously. "Neither do I... Does somebody want to please explain what my brother's initials have to do with this too?"  
  
Chloe turned to Noah and tried to explain it to him. "Greta... She was getting these notes from Stefano, just like the ones we found in her apartment here, there was a lot more in her house in Salem. On one of them was the phrase, 'The game has many players'. And then there was a watermark... with letters... initials... Greta, John, Brady, me and..."  
  
"Jake... KJM... I get it." Noah slouched down further into the couch with a depressed sigh. "That puts everything into a new perspective, that's for sure... So, what do we do now?"  
  
Brady rubbed his hands together and replied. "That's the other thing I have to tell you both... Greta is here in Venice, and I know where to find her. So tonight... we infiltrate the mansion where they are keeping her. "  
  
Chloe's eyes widened and she stared at her husband in surprise. "Tonight? Are you serious?"  
  
"As serious as a heart attack, Chloe. There's absolutely no time to waste here..."  
  
"But -- don't you think we might be a bit unprepared for this sort of maneuver?"  
  
Brady stared at her with a steely gaze, one that definitely meant business. "We have eight hours to make ourselves prepared. I have some gadgets and weaponry that I nabbed from my father. Noah is a police officer, so I don't think we have to worry about him."  
  
Noah nodded enthusiastically and interjected. "No, you don't. I'm completely ready to do whatever I have to so I can find my brother..."  
  
"Well, I'm hoping that if we find Greta first, maybe that will lead us to both the antidote and Jake..."  
  
Chloe was shaking her head slightly and reached across her chair to grab Brady's hand. "Brady... I don't know... Are you SURE we're ready for this?"  
  
Brady sighed and leaned forward to give her a kiss on the forehead. "I'm sure that we have to do this even if we aren't ready. Do you understand what will happen to Greta if we don't get to her in time?"  
  
"But -- Greta is Stefano's daughter... He wouldn't hurt her. Would he?"  
  
"Maybe not physically. But, he might do something even worse than physical pain... You know what he did to my dad... what he did to Hope... You know exactly what he's capable of."  
  
Chloe nodded sadly and looked towards the floor. It wasn't something that any of them often spoke about, but Chloe knew about Stefano's taste for mind control. If he couldn't have someone do his bidding by their own free will, he would find a way around it. A chill ran up her spine as she thought about what he would do to Greta, especially since she knew that Greta would never willingly give in to the father she had denied for so long.  
  
"I know... You're right... We can't let that happen to Greta. We can't let it happen to anyone ever again..."  
  
Brady nodded in agreement and brushed his hand over her cheek. "And we won't... We're going to stop DiMera this time. Once and for all. That way no one we care about will ever be in this situation again..."  
  
Chloe smiled slightly and nodded. She wished she could believe that was true, but she knew that the DiMera family had been a thorn in the side of the town of Salem for many years before she had even heard of them. Chloe feared that they would continue to be that thorn for many years to come, trickling down to future generations of Bradys and Blacks, including her own son.  
  
"Okay... Then show me what to do. Teach me how to be a superhero..."  
  
Brady laughed softly and stood from the couch as Chloe and Noah stood too. "Well, Wonder-Woman... First thing's first, we have to plug in the laptop. Bo is sending me some information on the house, floorplans and security information... I'm sure they don't know everything, but it will help..."  
  
Brady walked away and went to dig out their computer and hook it up. Chloe turned to look at Noah and smiled politely at him. "Listen... You know you don't have to go with us tonight... This is our fight, and I'd hate to put one more person in danger..."  
  
Noah shook his head, his handsome face changing from confused and worried to resolved and determined. "No, this is my fight too. Jake might be alright, he might be there with your friend Greta... Or he might not be. Either way, Stefano DiMera has done *something* to my brother, and he's going to pay for it."  
  
Chloe nodded slightly and kept smiling. "You're a good man, Noah... A brave man."  
  
"Not so brave... I'm more scared than I've ever been in my life. But, the fear -- it just pushes you harder. Keeps you going..."  
  
"You're right... It does..."  
  
Chloe turned away from him and went to stand beside Brady as he booted up the computer. She watched as he logged on to find the files that Bo was sending him, but her mind was filled with other images. The picture of Jake Maguire seemed to haunt every corner of her brain, as did images of Phillip Kiriakis. No matter how hard she tried to convince herself otherwise, she knew that there was more to this coincidence than Brady wanted her to believe.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sorry I didn't post a chapter yesterday... Life got in the way. See, I actually DO have a life away from fanfic, Broe and ES. Believe it or not... 


End file.
